Tell Your MLA: BC Needs Vacancy Control Now!

Join in the fight for housing justice and demand real rent control in BC!

British Columbians are suffering from a worsening housing affordability crisis and it is time to demand that the government takes meaningful action.

The government’s current approach of addressing the housing crisis by building more rental housing is not enough: despite adding a record-breaking number of new rental units to the market in Victoria and Vancouver last year, the cost of rent has continued to soar. According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2022 Rental Market Report, in Victoria the average 2-bedroom apartment was rented for 33% more compared to occupied units in the same building. In Vancouver, the difference between occupied units and units advertised for rent was a staggering 43%. Similar statistics are seen in communities across BC.

We need Vacancy Control, a system of rent control that limits the amount a landlord can increase the rental cost of a unit after it becomes vacant. The current system provides BC landlords with huge financial incentive to evict tenants by any means necessary, earning BC the number 1 spot for the highest rate eviction in the country. Vacancy control would help to:

Prevent bad-faith evictions,
Increase housing security for tenants, and
Preserve affordable housing stock across BC.

The high cost of rental housing is hurting our residents and it is imperative to the long-term health of our economy and social fabric that working people are able to afford to live in our communities. We are calling on the Provincial Government to act now and implement vacancy control and we need your help. Add your voice to this petition to tell your MLA that BC needs Vacancy Control now and join us in the fight towards housing justice for all!

2428

Goal: 5000

Send a letter to your Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in support of vacancy control and urge them to take action to address the housing crisis in BC!

If you'd like to share your thoughts in your own words, you can adapt or edit the message below.

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I am writing to you because the economic health of British Columbia and the emotional, mental, and physical health of its people are suffering as a result of the ongoing housing affordability crisis. This is an emergency and we need urgent legislative action to address it.

Despite a record-breaking number of new rental units being added to the market in Victoria and Vancouver last year, the cost of rent continues to rise. According to The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's 2022 Rental Market Report, in Victoria the average 2-bedroom apartment rented for 33% more compared to occupied units in the same building, and in Vancouver, the difference between occupied units and units advertised for rent was a staggering 43%. Similar statistics are seen in communities across BC, and the situation is worsening

This data shows us that we cannot effectively respond to the housing crisis with the urgency it requires through building more housing alone. I believe that BC needs Vacancy Control: a system of rent control that limits the amount a landlord can increase the rental cost of a unit when one tenancy ends and another begins.

The current system provides BC landlords with a huge financial incentive to evict tenants by any means necessary. Tenant organizations across BC are seeing a staggering number of bad-faith evictions being served with the sole intention of increasing profits off the backs of tenants. For this reason, Together Against Poverty Society’s 'Vacancy Control Now' campaign is calling on the provincial government to implement rent control between tenancies to help prevent bad-faith evictions, provide tenants with housing security, and preserve affordable housing stock across BC.

We cannot allow the profits of developers and landlords to take precedence over our human right to safe and affordable housing.

I look forward to hearing from you soon on how the government plans to address this issue.

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