Surrey Now-Leader: Surrey apartment demovictions halted — for now

Tenant advocacy group led a rally to protest evictions from Elizabeth Manor

A landlord has rescinded eviction notices given to Elizabeth Manor residents, in the wake of a group of concerned tenants marching on city hall last week.

The rally, led by tenancy advocacy group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), started at the apartment building and finished at Surrey City Hall on Monday (May 27), with the protesters calling for Surrey to bring in anti-displacement tenant protections to stop what they call the “looming demoviction crisis” after the building’s residents were served with eviction notices.

A pending redevelopment application for the affordable apartment building has not yet been heard or approved by city council, noted BC ACORN lead organizer Emily Armitage.

She called the cancelled eviction notices a big win but said there’s still a lot of work ahead.

“We’ll still be pushing at city hall to halt the redevelopment, as long as it’s going to involve forcing tenants out of the neighbourhood,” Armitage said.

“We’re going to be at city hall again on June 10 for the next council meeting.”

In a release, ACORN tenant leader Arun Mulalka said he has lived at Elizabeth Manor for five years with his family and is paying $935 for his two-bedroom apartment.

“If I got evicted, my rent would almost triple. Who can afford that with expenses skyrocketing right now?” he queried. “I have a five-year-old daughter who is starting school in September, my whole life is here in this neighbourhood. If my family loses our home, where are we supposed to go?”

Demovictions of affordable apartment buildings to make way for luxury condos are becoming a widespread scourge across North Surrey, Armitage said.

Another six apartment buildings within a block of Elizabeth Manor also have pending development applications, with most planned projects containing little to no affordable rentals.

“We can’t have this neighbourhood becoming the next Metrotown, but without action from city hall that’s the only outcome here,” said Mulalka.

Surrey’s general manager of planning and development Don Luymes confirmed the city has received a redevelopment proposal for the property, which is in initial review by staff.

He noted the city advised the appplicant that it was premature to have issued eviction notices to remaining tenants, as the project has not yet been reviewed by staff or presented to council, and the applicant is still going through the permitting process.

The redevelopment proposal is for a total of 561 residential units in two parts: a 25-storey market condo building on one site, and a 35-storey market condo with an attached six-storey podium containing 57 affordable rental units, Luymes said in an email.

“The rental units are to be secured through a 60-year Housing Agreement. The current proposal is for these units to replace the existing 57 rental units on a 1:1 basis, with the same number of bedrooms and unit mix as the existing building, and rented at 10 per cent below the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)-determined average rental rates for this part of Surrey,” he said.

The proposal is in keeping with Policy O-61 on rental residential site redevelopment, Luymes continued.

“The city understands that the developer is offering existing tenants a financial compensation package that meets or exceeds the requirements in Policy O-61, including assistance with relocation and moving costs. According to the applicant, of the 57 existing units, 20 are already vacant and a total of 37 tenants who would need to be relocated if the project is approved.”

CMHC stats for 2023 show apartment average rent in Surrey went from $1,099/month for a bachelor suite to $1,335; for a one-bedroom, it went from $1,365 to $1,449, with two-bedroom rent going from $1,531 to $1,663.

Rental rates have skyrocketed since 2023, with many Surrey landlords currently charging $2,200 (or more) for one-bedroom condos/apartment rent.

If approved, the owner of the rental building will set the rents for the units, Luymes noted. The rents may not exceed 90 per cent of the current market rents as determined through the annual CMHC rental market report.

“This report is published annually in the fall. So, the rents in the new building (assuming it is built) would be benchmarked against the last CMHC report prior to occupancy,” Luymes said.

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Article by Tricia Weel for Surrey Now-Leader