The election's over but the fight continues: we're launching a new campaign to bring REAL RENT CONTROL back to BC!
With real rent control landlords couldn't raise rents when tenants move out - a simple fix that would fight rising costs and renovictions! bit.ly/2NXgQwv
Currently, BC has a form of rent control that allows landlords to raise rents 2.5% every year. But they can also raise rent as much as they want when you move out or are evicted. This drives up rents and encourages landlords to evict and renovict tenants! bit.ly/2q7gDgL
To protect renters, we need to pair this existing rent control measure with REAL RENT CONTROL (also called vacancy control).
Our tenant-powered campaign is calling on the provincial government and the @bcndp to amend the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) to include vacancy control.
2. REAL AFFORDABILITY: stop out-of-control rent hikes and protect affordable units #vanpoli#bcpoli
3. REAL POVERTY REDUCTION: keep welfare and wages in the pockets of low-income people, not landlords. #vanpoli#bcpoli
4. REAL SIMPLE SOLUTION: we had real rent control (vacancy control) in BC before and it currently exists in Quebec, Manitoba, and PEI. We can do this! #vanpoli#bcpoli
To support our campaign you can:
-spread the word!
-send us your stories! realrentcontrolbc AT gmail
-help us connect to allies across BC
-tell your MLA you support vacancy control/real rent control
-volunteer: bit.ly/2Jd57t5
-sign the petition! bit.ly/2NXgQwv
Evictions are violence, and it's low-income and racialized tenants who bare the brunt of this. With the @bcndp lifting the eviction ban, the Guevarras, Sarah Lindsay and The Bottle Depot on Carolina and Broadway are being evicted on the 30th of September.
The tenants will be kicked out of their homes for another @PortLiving project - they've bought up blocks of property around Fraser and Main. Lots of condos and empty storefronts here now, though there's been reports that they are owing millions of unpaid debt.
All these tenants deserve just compensation, but the developer has chosen to specifically ignore requests to negotiate with the Guevarras who are seniors and Filipino immigrants. They will be hit the hardest by this eviction and yet are the ones who are offered the least.
We were shocked by the responses that we got:
- A significant number of all respondents (63%) reported experiencing increased mental health issues
- 28% of written responses described sacrificing basic nutrition or going hungry
- Despite CERB and BC TRS, 32% reported having to borrow, use credit, or dip into savings
- 32% believed they were at risk of falling into rent debt once government ends CERB
- 69% of those in rent debt do not believe they can afford to begin paying down their debt by October
Last week we surveyed renters about being able to pay rent for May. Here are some responses:
“I emailed my landlord saying my rent is a hundred percent of my income and he said his mortgage company won't give him a break so I don't get a break."
"I did try to negotiate with my landlord but they are big corporations and won't do any rent reduction of deferral. They just told me to apply for the BC Rent Supplement."
Our Renters Toolkit and other resources on bcrentcrisis.ca will be updated to reflect info the provincial government provided yesterday. Yesterday is the first time they've actually clarified how evictions and rents are to be handled.
KEY INFO: Eviction notices issued after March 30th are considered without force. This means that they won't have to be disputed in 5 days which is good. People can prioritize health and buy the things they need.
KEY INFO: Evictions and writs of possession given prior to March 30th will still be live, meaning you would have to dispute them within regular time guidelines. However they will not be enforced until the lifting of the emergency period.
We are telling all renters:
Be Safe. Just Stay. Even if you Cannot Pay.
Share your stories. Connect with neighbors.
Learn how to safely organize your building under COVID-19. Download the Renter’s Toolkit. #BCRentCrisis#FoodbeforeRent
To survive this renters will need to start building our power.
We’ll need to take care of each other.
But we’ll also need to make our voices heard.
We will need to tell the government what we really need.
And if they don’t act then we will.
Time is running out for tenants suddenly at risk of losing their homes due to #Covid_19 job loss. Does the province really expect every single landlord to be "principled"? We don't just hope people are "principled" and not harm each other in other ways - that's what laws are for.
What "principles" are you referring to? We've created a way for at-risk tenants to self-identify, and we've gotten 238 names just since 7 AM this morning. vancouvertenantsunion.ca/bcrentcrisis