--- title: "COPE on Fight for Housing: 40 commitments | Vancouver 2026 | voche.me" canonical_url: "https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/fight-for-housing" last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:00:25.265Z" meta: description: "Fight for Housing is the first section of COPE's 2026 platform. It would triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartments for public housing and co-ops, secure 2..." "og:description": "Fight for Housing is the first section of COPE's 2026 platform. It would triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartments for public housing and co-ops, secure 2..." "og:title": "COPE on Fight for Housing: 40 commitments | Vancouver 2026" "twitter:description": "Fight for Housing is the first section of COPE's 2026 platform. It would triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartments for public housing and co-ops, secure 2..." "twitter:title": "COPE on Fight for Housing: 40 commitments | Vancouver 2026" --- ** COPE · Vancouver 2026 # COPE on housing: the Empty Homes Tax, public housing, a Renters Office and a mansion tax Fight for Housing is the first section of COPE's 2026 platform. It would triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartments for public housing and co-ops, secure 20,000+ affordable homes, bring back a Renters Office and tax mansions to pay for ending homelessness. See the 4 chapters [The whole Fight for Vancouver](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform) [**12**Candidates](https://voche.me/parties/cope/candidates) [**9/10**Issues with published policy](https://voche.me/parties/cope/platform) [**7**Sources on file](https://voche.me/parties/cope/money) **9**Questions answered CITY COUNCIL · PAGES 4 TO 9 ## The aim of Fight for Housing, in the party's words > We can make housing affordable if we’re willing to fight for it. COPE opens its 2026 platform with housing, on pages 4 to 9. The section begins with the party's argument that the housing market is working as designed, to raise rents and reward investors, and ends with its plan for homelessness. Its parts cover stopping the loss of affordable homes, building permanently affordable public housing, protecting renters, and taxing mansions to end homelessness. The best-known items are a tripled Empty Homes Tax, the city buying apartment buildings to turn into public housing and co-ops, and a target of 20,000+ affordable homes paid for by taxes on wealth, mansions and empty lots. For renters, COPE would bring back a Renters Office "with teeth", create a Landlord Registry and have the city repair neglected units and bill landlords. For people without homes, it would add shelters and tiny house villages and stop street sweeps. Council controls zoning, city land, the Empty Homes Tax and rental bylaws, so many of these steps are within its power. Rent increase limits and tenancy law belong to the Province, and so do any new kinds of tax, because the Vancouver Charter sets the city's powers. Housing funding also depends on the provincial and federal governments, which COPE says it would press. **4**Chapters **40**Commitments **3**Need another government or a regional body 4 CHAPTERS ## Every chapter in Fight for Housing [

Stop the Loss of Affordable Housing

COPE on affordable homes: triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartments, stop demovictions - Close the loopholes landlords use to raise rents - Triple the Empty Homes Tax - Buy apartments and turn them into public housing and co-ops17 commitmentsPages 5 to 6Read the chapter](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/fight-for-housing/stop-the-loss-of-affordable-housing) [

Permanently Affordable Public Housing

COPE on public housing: 20,000+ homes, a land value tax, a penalty on empty lots - Negotiate, build and secure 20,000+ affordable homes - Act as lead negotiator for stalled housing sites - Finance public housing with taxes on wealth, mansions and empty lots7 commitmentsPage 7Read the chapter](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/fight-for-housing/permanently-affordable-public-housing) [

Protect Renters

COPE's renter plan: a Renters Office, a landlord registry, repairs billed to landlords - Bring back the Renters Office, with teeth - Make landlords maintain units, or the city repairs and bills them - Allow pets in all rentals8 commitmentsPage 8Read the chapter](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/fight-for-housing/protect-renters) [

Tax Mansions to End Homelessness

COPE on homelessness: a mansion tax, tiny house villages, an end to street sweeps - Address homelessness with all available city powers - A Greater Vancouver partnership to end homelessness - End tent cities by providing affordable housing8 commitmentsPage 9Read the chapter](https://voche.me/parties/cope/2026-platform/fight-for-housing/tax-mansions-to-end-homelessness) WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT ## Who holds the power for these 40 commitments Each chapter page names the body for every commitment and gives the reason in one sentence. City, with others20 City Council17 Province3 ON THE BALLOT ## The COPE candidates behind this ### City Council [111**Sean Orr**Ballot 111 · Vancouver city councillor](https://voche.me/candidates/sean-orr) [121**Devyani Singh**Ballot 121](https://voche.me/candidates/devyani-singh) [124**Chloe Leslie**Ballot 124](https://voche.me/candidates/chloe-leslie) [155**Solomon Yi-Kieran**Ballot 155](https://voche.me/candidates/solomon-yi-kieran) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ## Questions about Fight for Housing
What is COPE's housing platform for 2026? COPE's Fight for Housing section would triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartment buildings for public housing and co-ops, secure 20,000+ affordable homes, bring back a Renters Office and tax mansions to end homelessness (platform, pages 4 to 9).
How would COPE lower rents in Vancouver? COPE would fight to close the vacancy loophole so rent controls apply between tenants, buy apartments to take them off the private market, and penalize rent increases above the maximum through a Renters Office. The Province sets rent increase limits, so the loophole would need provincial action (platform, pages 5 and 8).
Does COPE want to tax mansions in Vancouver? Yes. COPE would tax the wealth held in mega-mansions to pay for ending homelessness, and lists taxes on wealth, mansions and empty lots among the ways it would pay for public housing. New kinds of tax would need powers from the Province (platform, pages 7 and 9).
What does COPE propose for renters? COPE would bring back a Renters Office, create a Landlord Registry, have the city do neglected repairs and bill landlords, allow pets in all rentals, ban rent-price collusion and protect tenant unions (platform, page 8).
What would COPE do about homelessness in Vancouver? COPE would use every city power on emergency shelters, tiny house villages, meal programs and storage for belongings, stop street sweeps, ban hostile architecture and follow the National Protocol for Homeless Encampments. It would pay for housing with a mansion tax (platform, page 9).
Who has the power to carry out COPE's housing plan? Council controls zoning, city land, the Empty Homes Tax and rental bylaws. The Province sets rent increase limits and tenancy law and decides what new taxes the city may charge, and most funding for social and supportive housing comes from the provincial and federal governments (platform, pages 4 to 9).
## Sources Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it. 1. [Fight for Vancouver: COPE 2026 Platform (PDF) ](https://www.votecope.ca/s/Fight-For-Vancouver-COPE-2026-Platform-t7yf.pdf#page=4)SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · pages 4 to 9 · checked September 30, 2026 2. [Vacancy Tax (Empty Homes Tax) By-law 11674 ](https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/consolidated/11674.PDF)City of Vancouver · checked September 30, 2026 ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.