B.C. Greens call for a return to vacancy control with new legislation

The B.C. Greens have tabled legislation that would limit how much landlords can raise rents between tenancies.

Rob Botterell, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands, introduced the private member’s bill on Tuesday. 

The bill will require vacant rental units to follow the same rules for rent increases as occupied units, meaning landlords can’t hike the rent when a tenancy turns over.

The party said in a statement the bill will ensure landlords aren’t incentivized to evict their tenants in order to increase profit from rent.

Currently, landlords can’t raise rents in occupied units beyond the limit set by the Residential Tenancy Branch. The limit is three per cent this year, and it’s set for 2.3 per cent in 2026.

Botterell said the bill wouldn’t change a landlord’s ability to apply to raise rents beyond the set limit, in cases of unforeseeable financial losses or significant repairs to a property. 

He also pointed to a 2023 report by the B.C. General Employees Union that said rent control has little short or long-term impact on construction rates. 

“The NDP has supported comprehensive rent control before by implementing vacancy control in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and the Housing Minister backed it as a city councillor,” added Botterell. “We hope this bill earns support across the aisle so renters can have real stability.”

The Greens and the NDP government have a co-operation agreement, known as CARGA. The two parties have agreed to work together on specific shared priorities, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the NDP will back the bill.

Green party leader Emily Lowan, who doesn’t hold a seat in the legislature, noted B.C. had similar vacancy control in the 1970s, before B.C.’s Social Credit Party scrapped rent controls in the mid-80s.

Lowan said renters are a “trampled afterthought” in the B.C. NDP government’s housing strategy. 

“Our housing system is designed to squeeze renters for all that they’re worth, while lining the pockets of luxury developers and big landlords,” she said. 

A Statistics Canada study based on data from 2020 found nearly a quarter of residential property owners in B.C. were investors, meaning they own one or more properties that are not their primary residence.

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