The City of Victoria is hoping higher levels of government will act on pleas around boosting biodiversity and clamping down on no-fault evictions.
Councillors ratified two resolutions on June 22 that are to be considered at the Union of BC Municipalities Conference, taking place in Vancouver later this year.
One resolution from the capital city asks the province to explore ways to rapidly increase the rental stock, at least in major urban centres, and especially for those in core housing need.
It calls for that to be done through legislation that would enable a rapid and significant increase in the approvals, construction and supply of rentals in areas near transit, active transportation infrastructure and community destinations.
The resolution also hopes to mitigate no-fault evictions by giving the Residential Tenancy Branch more resources, investigating rent increases, increasing compensation owed to tenants and regulating price increases between tenancies.
The province has so far ignored a request Victoria made last year to clamp down on landlords who drastically boost the rent rate before a new tenant moves into a space. Such increases between tenancies remain an unregulated part of the market as Victoria and other B.C. cities continue to post some of the country’s most expensive rents.
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation found that someone moving into an average Greater Victoria two-bedroom apartment in 2022 would pay 33 per cent more in rent than what a tenant in an occupied unit of the same building was paying.
The city also wants B.C. to close the gap between households in core housing need and current rental costs through income support or boosting existing rental assistance programs.
A household in core housing need lives in an unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable dwelling and cannot afford an alternative in their community. The most recent census found just over 13 per cent of British Columbians live in core housing need.
Another resolution calls on the province to work with local governments and First Nations to support the protection and restoration of biological diversity in local communities, including establishing a Local Natural Areas Protection fund to support local efforts in acquiring land for biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Councillors Marg Gardiner and Chris Coleman said the resolution could assist Victoria, First Nations, the region and B.C. in more quickly restoring biodiversity.
The councillors added that the resolution aligns with Canada’s conservation targets set at last year’s COP15 biodiversity convention, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and B.C.’s legislation on bringing laws in line with UNDRIP.
Coun. Dave Thompson said if the province acts on the resolution, it would likely mean more parks for Victoria.
READ: Victoria wants B.C. to regulate rent increases between tenancies