BC Steps In to Prevent a Summer Homelessness Crisis

The provincial government has stepped in to override a B.C. Supreme Court decision and prevent a worsening homelessness crisis in Vancouver this summer.

Vancouver city council approved a bylaw in 2021 that limited rent increases between tenancies in single-room occupancy hotels, which provide 6,567 units of housing for people with low incomes, many with mental health and substance use challenges.

The city’s goal was to discourage landlords from evicting tenants and raising rents for the next occupants, which is allowed under B.C.’s rent controls.

But advocates warned evictions and rent increases had been increasing in the wake of the court decision that struck down the city bylaw.

Wendy Pedersen, a longtime advocate for SRO tenants, said she’s relieved to hear the province will step in.

“These evictions cause a lot of trauma. They’ve caused a lot of chaos in people’s lives, and a lot of chaos in the community,” Pedersen said.

“There are tenants… who’ve been hanging on for dear life, while their landlords have been pressuring them to leave.”

Single-room occupancy hotels are scattered throughout downtown Vancouver and the Downtown Eastside. The century-old buildings have small rooms, shared bathrooms and no kitchens and have become housing for Vancouver’s poorest residents.