New West City Council hears shocking stats from ACORN’s State of Repair Report

NEW WESTMINSTER— On Monday, ACORN members held a rally at New Westminster City Hall to announce the launch of our 2025 State of Repair report, based on the results from our New West tenant survey. Members shared stories about the 2021 heat dome and repair issues in their apartment, and were joined by Nadine Nakagawa who shared her support of our demands for better tenant protections.

After the rally, New West ACORN Chair Monica Bhandari presented the findings of the report to New West City Council. She emphasized the key takeaways:

• 2/3 of tenants reported unaddressed  repair and maintenance  issues in their buildings, and close to half of all respondents to our survey were dissatisfied with conditions in their buildings
• 67% of tenants weren’t aware that they could report neglected repairs to the city.
• 37% of tenants do not have access to air-conditioning, and 40% of tenants report that their unit is often extremely hot.
• Tenants are apprehensive and fearful to report repair issues to their landlords for a variety of reasons–
  • 52% of tenants say they have chosen not to report repair issues to their landlords in the past, because they expected to be ignored.
  • A shocking 60% of respondents say they are concerned about eviction when reporting repair issues to their landlord.

The response from the mayor and council was positive. Councilors Nadine Nakagawa and Ruby Campbell agreed that the city should work with ACORN to develop stronger enforcement of tenant protections, and improve communication from the city to the public on renters’ rights and landlord responsibilities. 

Mayor Patrick Johnstone expressed his support as well and while he did imply that the city is having trouble with jurisdictional boundaries, he said the city is committed to fighting the housing crisis by approving more low-income housing to be built here in New Westminster! Click here to read our full report!