BURNABY - Earlier this week, Burnaby city council unanimously approved a proposed new tenant assistance policy that will provide the strongest protections in Canada to renters facing demoviction.

The policy will ensure renters have the right to return to a rebuilt unit at the same rent they were paying previously. Developers will also be required to provide displaced tenants with rent top ups during the interim, while the new development is being built, so that their rent stays the same while they are living in temporary accommodations. 

BCGEU Executive Vice-President Kari Michaels sat on the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Housing which developed these proposed protections among their recommendations. 

This significant policy shift comes after years of work by housing activists, including BCGEU members, to stop mass demovictions in the Metrotown area.