Vancouver council votes to end renter office established by predecessors

Vancouver council has voted to close down a city office that provides help to renters following a party-line vote.

The ABC majority voted to end the city's Renter Office with a last-minute amendment to a staff report that recommended it continue.

The renters office providesresources, referrals and information about tenants rights.ABC councillors claimed ending the office willhelp tenants more, but those opposed saidthe closure will hurtthe most vulnerable renters.

ABC councillor Lenny Zhou and his colleagues questioned the office's efficiency. Zhou put forward the amendments to close down the office.

"There are different stakeholders: the city, the province, the non-profit organizations," Zhou asked staff."So who is taking the lead?"

Councillors opposed to the closure all three not in the ABC majority argued tenants benefitedfrom a one-stop shop.

Adrianne Carr asked if leaving the work to non-profits would create gaps.

"Do they have the expertise ... when what we did was fill a space that no one else was, doing things that no one else was doing?" Carr asked.

The ABC majority voted to end the office, which staff say has cost about $1.8 million over three years.

Zhou's amendments, which all passed five to three,increased grants to non-profits serving renters by $250,000 for 2023.

The original staff report called for the city to provideoffice space to the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC) to establish a co-ordinated renter resource centre. That recommendation was accepted by council.

TRAC declined to comment Wednesday night but in a statement received after the publication of this article, executive director Andrew Sakamotoexpressed pleasure with being providedoffice space.

"By approving TRAC and other renter-serving agencies to co-locate and collaborate at a centrally located Downtown office, the City has facilitated an innovative service-delivery model that will help renters navigate Vancouver's challenging rental market," Sakamoto said in an email.

Sakamoto would not comment on the closure of the Renter Office.

It's not clear when the office's closure will be final.