Provincial legislation encourages greater density near transit hubs, raising fears of redevelopment evictions.
By: Akshay Kulkarni
Council in New Westminster, B.C., has passed a motion to beef up renters’ protections after new provincial legislation on housing density raised fears that tenants in affordable homes could be forced out by redevelopment.
The motion by councillors Ruby Campbell and Nadine Nakagawa asks council to update its tenant protection and relocation policies, in light of legislation that encourages more dense housing around transit hubs.
Tenants’ advocates say many buildings in downtown New Westminster are located within 800 metres of a rapid transit station, the zone defined for such transit-oriented development — and this could pressure owners of affordable housing to sell to developers incentivized by the legislation.
The advocates say if displaced renters are forced to look for a market-rate unit in New Westminster, they could be looking at a spike of about 40 to 50 per cent in rent, based on Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data.
B.C. government introduces bill encouraging creation of more housing near transit hubs.
Cities ask for more time to comply with B.C.’s zoning laws.
“The only answer, really, is to rehouse those tenants in the new development at the same rate that they were paying prior to the demolition of the old building,” said Dustin Godfrey, a volunteer organizer with the New West Tenants Union, at a council meeting Monday.
“Otherwise, you’re really putting tenants in this position where … there’s a few different sort of tracks ahead of them and none of them are good.” Godfrey and the tenants’ union pushed council to allow renters the right to live in an equivalent housing unit if the site where they live was redeveloped — as well as rent support for the duration of construction projects…
Source: cbc.ca/news
Friday, April 24, 2026
