Ken Sim's ABC #DevelopersParty could have expanded #EmptyHomesTax
But in a #RenterMajorityCity refused to & did this
ABC Vancouver gives developers $3.8M tax break 2023
#COPE will TRIPLE the empty homes tax p3
@pqpolitics.bsky.social![COPE 2026 ELECTION PLATFORM
FIGHT FOR HOUSING 1.1 Stop the Loss of
Affordable Housing
Between 2016 and 2021, Vancouver lost over 47,000 affordable homes to rent
increases and demovictions. [1] • Close the loopholes that landlords use to jack up rents. We'll fight to keep rents low by fighting to close the vacancy loophole to ensure that rent con-
trols apply between tenants. • Triple the empty homes tax to put more rental homes on the market and use the revenues to pro- duce affordable housing. When COPE first proposed the Empty Homes Tax in 2014, it was intended to grow over time, but Ken Sim and ABC froze the EHT and created new loopholes for developers to keep
units vacant. • Buy apartments and turn them into permanent- ly affordable public housing and co-ops. Create a right-of-first refusal policy that gives tenants, and then the city, first priority in purchasing ex- isting apartments that go up for sale to turn into affordable housing. Create a Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Fund to help land trusts, co-ops, and non-profits acquire rental housing and prevent dis-
placement. • Support the development of community-led land trusts aimed at protecting land from speculative development and creating permanently affordable
housing for public benefit.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:t4qjao6o2xfwavfc5ewwvosg/bafkreidifgvpbfjgcj7f5cugn6qq4eb2qgesfimu7hra5c7vlky6eiqh2i@jpeg)
![CHANGE IN RENT DISTRIBUTION, 2016-2021
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
-20,000
-40,000
-60,000
- 47,225 less than
$1,000/mo
51,000 to
1,250/md $1,250 to
51,500/mc 1,500 to
$2,000/mo
UNITS BY PRICE PER MONTH
above
$2,000/mo The average rent for a two bedroom pur- pose-built apartment in 2016 was $1,757. In 2024,
it was $2,565. [2] [3] That's an increase of
almost 50%. During the same period,
inflation was 24.94% [4]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:t4qjao6o2xfwavfc5ewwvosg/bafkreibd37vcettolul7i643q2nt53qgz4cpuh6j7tmivjqlxv52iiabhy@jpeg)
![Support, protect, and expand co-op housing and fight to renew leases for existing co-ops at no charge to preserve affordable homes, prior- itize building new co-ops on city-owned land, and push other levels of government to make
generational investments in co-op housing. Protect land held by non-profit community groups from sell-offs to speculative inter- ests. Land owned by faith-based groups and other charitable or non-profit organizations should be mandated to give right of first refus- al to another non-market user before selling to
the private sector. • Stop public land sell-offs that rip us off. For too long, public lands have been given away to the rich and powerful and sold off to make up
for budget shortfalls. • Preserve, leverage, and expand Vancouver's public lands for public benefit, and implement a city-wide public land trust for democratic community control. We need to build per- manently affordable public housing for every income level and in every neighbourhood, in partnership with the provincial government, the federal government, host nations, and
non-profits. • Tax non-resident investors to fund affordable
housing for people who live here. • Mandate redevelopment fees for deeply affordable housing cover the cost of replace- ment units, and end the waivers and give-
aways of SRA conversion fees to developers. In one vote alone, Ken Sim and ABC waived over $20 million in SRA fees to a developer. SRA fees pay for affordable
housing replacement. [5] anti-displacement policy that protects tenants rights, converts rentals into co- ops, and prioritizes development without
displacement.
•
•
•
・
・ Plan the city to grow where there are sin- gle family homes, parking lots, and store- fronts, instead of tearing down afford-
able apartments. Retrofit existing affordable housing for seismic safety and climate prepared- ness, and work to transfer ownership to
tenants, non-profits, or the city. Take what works from the tenant relo- cation and protection policy (T…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:t4qjao6o2xfwavfc5ewwvosg/bafkreigqpyb43bklhhpaorhoe2ssdfccji6sm6dxa6j7kgb4jgxa4zrxoe@jpeg)
@pqpolitics.bsky.socialKen Sim's ABC #DevelopersParty could have expanded #EmptyHomesTax
But in a #RenterMajorityCity refused to & did this
ABC Vancouver gives developers $3.8M tax break 2023
#COPE will TRIPLE the empty homes tax p3