The week of Dec 10th, 2019, COPE Councillor Jean Swanson will be introducing a motion at Vancouver city council to implement full rent control in single room occupancy (SRO) hotels, which are often the last rental home option before homelessness.
Called Slowing the loss of the last low income SROs in Vancouver, the motion asks both the Province and the City to tie rent control to the housing unit, not just the tenant. This means landlords will no longer be able to jack the rent after a tenant leaves, thereby removing a major incentive to evict vulnerable tenants. Read the motion here.
Speakers to the motion will be heard on either Wed Dec 11th or Thurs Dec 12th. By signing this petition, COPE can keep in touch with you to update you on when the discussion is taking place.
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SIGN THE PETITION HERE!
I support the motion "Slowing the loss of the last low income SROs in Vancouver" because:
1) Average rents in privately owned SRO hotels in the DTES have increased by over 20% over the last two years
2) The 4,000 tenants living in these SROs are especially vulnerable to rent hikes and evictions, as 85% are living on social assistance or disability
3) Right now 180 SRO rooms in the DTES (The Avalon, St. Elmo, Pacific, and Arno) are being sold and marketed as investment opportunities
4) Homelessness in Vancouver is at a record high 2,233 people with about 1,200 already sleeping on streets or in shelters in the DTES
5) Tying rent control to the unit will remove the incentive for landlords to evict low-income tenants in order to jack the rent two or three times over
6) Vancouver city council already said they supported this change in 2017, but no action has been taken
