Editor:
I want to point a few common misconceptions around Burnaby's new rental policies and demovictions.
First, I have heard people say that this policy was started by the previous mayor and council. The only part of this that was in play during the last council was a vague bylaw passed allowing rental-only zoning.
It was largely a smokescreen when the panicked previous mayor and council started to feel the fury of people in Burnaby for accelerating demovictions after the passing of the Metrotown Downtown Plan in 2017. There is no connection between this and demovictions because the issues with demovictions are displacement and affordability. I don't think it matters to renters if are evicted to make way for luxury condos or luxury rentals.
Secondly, rental-only zoning is a very small part of Mayor Mike Hurley's new policy. The issue of affordability is addressed here and in a much better way and definition of “affordability” than used by the previous mayor.
An example of that is the New Vista “affordable” announcements several weeks back that were put in place by the previous council. The previous definition had rents for one bedroom at $1,336 and $2,132 for a two-bedroom suite. The new definition is still problematic, but is much better and means that new replacement one bedrooms will go for around $1,000/month. So while the previous mayor largely ignored displacement and affordability for Burnaby renters, the new mayor is taking some steps to address affordability that is more in touch with low- and moderate-income people in Burnaby.
So far, the issue of displacement is not being met, but will hopefully be addressed soon.
Since a freeze and a later moratorium was put in place on demovictions at city hall, ACORN has tracked three developers to have almost emptied out five apartments. This means that in the midst of the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, 300 perfectly livable rental units are sitting empty because some developers are speculating their rezoning applications just need a rubber stamp by Burnaby council.
Many of the displaced tenants face 50 per cent or more increases in rent that their buyouts will not cover for long. What Burnaby needs to address is a tenant relocation policy that rehouses them at the same cost (or less) in the same area.
So, while some of the issues dealt with in Burnaby's new approach to rental housing are good for the mid and short term, there is nothing yet that the over 10,000 renters in Metrotown can point to as improving their situation from a year ago. There are over 1,000 renters who are currently frozen in the demovictions process who need a real solution before the moratorium is lifted July 17.
Murray Martin the Burnaby ACORN spokesperson and a member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Housing
