New Westminster is hoping to drum up support for the creation of a new provincial renters advocate.
City council has passed a motion by Coun. Chuck Puchmayr to seek support from the Lower Mainland Local Government Association and the Union of B.C. Municipalities in encouraging the provincial government to create an independent Office of the Renters Advocate. The concept is to have an office that monitors and analyzes renters’ services and issues in British Columbia and makes recommendations to government and service providers to address systemic issues caused by rental shortages, renovictions, demovictions and housing affordability.
The motion notes that a lack of government policies is a contributing factor to the current situation of rental sustainability. It goes on to say that many local governments are struggling to address this crisis as they have limited resources or powers to develop sustainable solutions to this problem.
“This certainly is a real crisis,” Puchmayr said. “I know when other organizations, youth were in crisis, an office was opened. The same with seniors.”
The Office of the Seniors Advocate, created in 2014, monitors and analyzes seniors’ services and issues in B.C., and makes recommendations to government and service providers to address systemic issues. Since 2007, British Columbia’s Representative for Children and Youth has supported young people and their families in dealing with the provincial child and youth welfare system, and has provided oversight to this system and made recommendations to improve it.
Puchmayr believes an Office of the Renters Advocate could play a similar role for renters in British Columbia, by analyzing issues and making recommendations to government.
“It’s not like the Residential Tenancy Act. (It) has a tenancy board that’s more an arbitration wing and is a bit of an education wing to renters and landlords,” he said. “This is clearly where we are asking the government to put someone in charge to clearly monitor the crisis and rental sustainability in this province.”
Coun. Mary Trentadue suggested the City of New Westminster encourage other municipalities to send letters of support to the UBCM and LMMGA.
“I do think this is an important ask of municipalities to other levels of government,” she said. “I believe that we would get support with that ask.”
