Press Release: Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Victoria Tenants Union To Join Thursday Rally At City Hall For Better Tenant Protections, More Non-Market Housing, and Reduced Displacement

On Thursday, April 17 at 12 noon the Victoria Tenants Union will be rallying at Victoria City Hall to protest the developer-friendly, tenant-hostile Official Community Plan (OCP), and to send the message that more development or densification alone will not help tenants in the city. In fact, it harm them – especially without better tenant protections.

Unfortunately, council is set to codify the current Tenant Protection Policy – which is completely inadequate – into a bylaw without the improvements it badly needs.

The rally has been organized by the James Bay Coalition, which has collected over 1,000 signatures on a petition that calls on the city to adopt a “right of first refusal” tenant protection policy similar to that enjoyed by renters in Burnaby, prioritize affordability over density, and protect trees and green space. The rally will also call for better compensation for renters displaced by development.

Tenants from the Nelson Street Tenant Association and the Gordreau Tenant Group, who have organized to resist their displacement by corporate landlord Belmont Properties, will also be attending the rally.

“Current policies allow private developers to destroy existing affordable homes and, under the guise of “densification”, replace them with unaffordable housing that is more profitable for them,” said Harland Bird of the Victoria Tenants Union. “But this is hurting, not helping tenants. We need fewer tenants displaced, better compensation for those who are, and much, much more non-market housing.”

Burnaby’s tenant protections include a right of first refusal that guarantees displaced tenants an opportunity to return to a unit in the new building with the same number of bedrooms, at their original rent (with standard rent increases), and compensation throughout the displacement period. Victoria’s tenant protections, in comparison, offer a right of first refusal that only allows tenants to return to the new building at 20 per cent below market rate, and offer much less compensation.

Harland Bird (he/him)

Steering Committee Member, Victoria Tenants Union

harlandbird@protonmail.com