ACORN wants to work with re-elected NDP government to stop tenant displacement in Transit Oriented Developments

ACORN wants to work with re-elected NDP government to stop tenant displacement in Transit Oriented Development Areas!

With the razor-thin NDP victory in the October provincial election, we’re ready at ACORN to work with the re-elected NDP government to create housing policies that truly address the realities faced by tenants and working-class people across the province.

Over the past several years, ACORN has been instrumental in pushing the NDP to enact essential tenant protections, including a renovation ban and stricter rules on landlord-use evictions. These policies have gone a long way in helping tenants stay in their homes, preventing displacement that allows landlords to hike rents on vacant units.

Now, one of the most urgent issues facing tenants in BC is the loose regulations around transit-oriented development, which the NDP has implemented provincewide. These policies put tenants living in affordable rentals at risk of eviction through redevelopment or demoviction, particularly in areas around transit hubs where very dense development has been given the go ahead. It’s hard to see how an affordable housing plan works if it directly leads to the mass destruction of existing affordable housing and the mass displacement of working class tenants!

ACORN’s work in Burnaby during the Metrotown demoviction crisis led to new anti-displacement policies that help tenants remain in their communities without facing rent increases beyond provincial guidelines.

It is time for the NDP to expand these protections across the province.

While increasing housing supply is essential, it can’t come at the expense of working-class tenants. Take Surrey, for example, where ACORN has been fighting for Burnaby-inspired policies at city hall. In Whalley and Guildford, large-scale redevelopment of tenant communities is well underway. With the council and city staff looking out of their depth, they’re increasingly rubber-stamping demovictions without protections in place for tenants.

Big developers hold substantial power not only over tenants but also over cities—particularly smaller ones. In its rush to boost housing supply, the NDP government has so far chosen not to mandate or provide policy guidance on managing the mass displacement that major redevelopments can bring. Burnaby has already seen the consequences of this during the Metrotown crisis and, in response, created new policies that balance the needs of developers and tenants alike. It’s time for the province to do the same.

To make our position clear, ACORN is holding a rally on November 22, aligned with National Housing Day, to call on the province to develop transit-oriented development policies that protect tenants from displacement. As a key coalition partner for National Housing Day, ACORN Canada is also joining the call for the federal government to prioritize funding for low-income subsidized housing. We’ll be rallying in front of four apartment buildings along 105A Avenue in Whalley–all affordable rentals that have pending redevelopment applications at council. The sheer number of tenants facing displacement on one city block alone proves the need for urgent provincial action. Meet us outside 13352 105A Ave on Friday November 22 at 1PM to stand with tenants!