Join the DTES SRO Collaborative campaign to get full rent control in single room occupancy hotels (SROs) Send a letter. Template here ->
RESOURCES:
10,000 affordable non-market rental housing units needed annually to stem Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Opening doors: unlocking housing supply for affordability engage.gov.bc.ca Final report of the Canada-British Columbia Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability. Read report ->
Social Housing Now
We demand from all levels of government the construction of 5,000 units of new social and public housing per year in the City of Vancouver, and at least 15,000 per year in Metro Vancouver.
Decommodify housing
and protect renters
Further, we demand public acquisition of at least 2,500 units per year of private rental housing. This will undercut the speculative investments from REITs and others who are incentivized to evict or displace existing tenants, and it will remove the split-cost incentive that prevents necessary energy efficiency retrofits. Expansion and retrofitting of newly-decommodified housing is a key part of any Green New Deal.
Enforce Housing as a Human Right: No more barriers to housing.
No more credit checks, arbitrary waitlists and other excuses. Housing is a human right and must be provided to all. Just as with the fight for universal health care, we must demand both the codification and the implementation of the human right to housing
NEWS FEED
Want to help out?
Here are things you can do, just for starters, to help us win Housing for All!
1. Talk to your neighbours and co-workers. Show them this webpage or the poster. We’ll win Housing for All one conversation at a time.
2. Put up some of our posters in your neighbourhood or at your workplace! Take a picture and share on social media with the hashtag #HousingForAll
3. Join the Vancouver Tenants Union! Renters are getting organized in this city. Join the VTU and find out about their neighbourhood chapters. If you own, or live in a housing co-op, you can donate to support the VTU. Info: https://www.vancouvertenantsunion.ca/
4. Tell your local MLA, MP, or city councillor you support the demands of Housing for All. Write them a letter, or better yet book a meeting to talk with them. We need all levels of government to deliver housing for all - no more letting politicians pass the buck!
5. Consider some of the campaigns listed on this page.
6. Last but not least, you can 1: Sign up for regular Housing Campaign Mailouts or better, 2: sign up as a member of the Democratic Socialists of Vancouver, and get involved in our Housing for All working group. Join here: https://www.democraticsocialistsyvr.ca/join-us
VANCOUVER TENANT’S UNION
A Tenant-powered movement
UPDATE: This month and next we’re in the middle of a municipal election campaign and we are actively supporting Sean Orr (VOTE Socialist) for City Council. Sean has Housing at the top of his priority list. Much of our capacity is focussed on this, but we plan to return to this working group in November. Be sure to sign up for updates and watch for upcoming listening circles after the election (Oct 15).