COPE's renter plan: a Renters Office, a landlord registry, repairs billed to landlords
COPE would bring back a Renters Office with power to track landlords and rents and help tenants bargain together. It would create a Landlord Registry, have the city do neglected repairs and bill landlords, allow pets in all rentals and ban rent-price collusion.
FIGHT FOR HOUSING · PAGE 8
Protect Renters: what the Fight for Vancouver says
COPE's chapter on renters is built around one office. The party would bring back the Renters Office, "with teeth", as an advocate for tenants. It would track landlords and rents, help tenants bargain together, step in when people are being pushed out, and record rent history over time. COPE says the office would also impose penalties on rent increases beyond the legal maximum.
Other items set duties for landlords. The party would require landlords to keep units in safe condition, including heat control, working appliances, and freedom from black mold and pests, or the city would do the repairs and bill the owner. A Landlord Registry would track landlord activity. COPE would also ban rent-price collusion, including the use of software that suggests rents, and allow pets in all rentals.
Council makes rental and tenant-protection bylaws, so it could set up the office, the registry and the repair rule. The Province writes tenancy law and sets the maximum rent increase. Items that change what a lease may say, such as a pet rule or a duty to bargain with a tenant union, would need the Province. COPE also wants to turn the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy into a city law with stronger protections.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Share of Vancouver residents the party says can afford market rate housing
The party's figure, page 8Share of new homes in the city's 10-year housing target that the party says are market rate
The party's figure, page 88 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Bring back the Renters Office, with teeth
COPE would bring back the Renters Office and give tenants an advocate empowered to fight for them. The office would track landlords and rents, help tenants bargain collectively and intervene in displacement.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides which offices the city runs and pays for them through the budget.
Make landlords maintain units, or the city repairs and bills them
The party would make sure landlords keep units in safe condition, including temperature control, working amenities, and safety from black mold and pests. If they do not, the city would do the repairs and bill the landlord.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council makes rental and tenant-protection bylaws, which can set standards for the upkeep of rental buildings.
Allow pets in all rentals
COPE would allow pets in all rentals. The platform says renters should not have to choose between their family and a home.
- Who has the power
- Province What a lease may say about pets is part of tenancy law, which the Province sets.
Crack down on bad landlords with a Landlord Registry
The party would track landlord activity through a Landlord Registry and impose real penalties on landlords who break the law for profit.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can create a city registry and set penalties in its own bylaws.
Track rent history through the Renters Office
COPE would track rent history and growth over time through the Renters Office, impose penalties on rent increases beyond the maximum, and use real-time rent data to guide public policy.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The maximum rent increase is set by the Province. The city can collect rent data, but the platform does not say which city power would carry the penalties.
Ban rent-price collusion
The party would ban rent-price collusion by any means, including algorithmic software, collaboration between landlords, or third-party intermediaries.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The platform does not say which government would pass the ban. The city makes rental bylaws, while tenancy law is provincial.
Protect the right of tenants to organize
COPE would protect the right of tenants to form unions and require landlords to bargain with tenants in good faith.
- Who has the power
- Province Landlord and tenant duties are set in provincial tenancy law, which the city cannot change.
Protect renters rights by law
The party would replace what it calls weak policies like the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy (TRPP) with strong laws that protect tenant rights in Vancouver.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council can turn a city policy into a city bylaw on rental housing.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about protect renters
What is COPE's Renters Office?
COPE would bring back a Renters Office "with teeth" to act as an advocate for tenants. It would track landlords and rents, help tenants bargain collectively, intervene in displacement and impose penalties on rent increases beyond the maximum (platform, page 8).
Would COPE make landlords fix their buildings?
Yes. COPE says landlords would have to keep units safe, including temperature control, working amenities, and protection from black mold and pests. If they do not, the city would do the repairs and bill the landlord (platform, page 8).
Does COPE want to allow pets in all Vancouver rentals?
Yes. COPE says it would allow pets in all rentals, so renters do not have to choose between their family and a home. Pet rules in leases are part of provincial tenancy law, so the city would need the Province to act (platform, page 8).
Does COPE support a landlord registry in Vancouver?
Yes. COPE would track landlord activity through a Landlord Registry and impose real penalties on landlords who break the law for profit (platform, page 8).
What does COPE say about rent-setting software?
COPE would ban rent-price collusion by any means, including algorithmic software, collaboration between landlords or third-party intermediaries (platform, page 8).
Could a COPE council protect tenant unions on its own?
COPE says it would protect the right of tenants to organize into unions and require landlords to bargain with them in good faith. Landlord and tenant duties are set in provincial tenancy law, so this part of the plan would need the Province (platform, page 8).
ON THE BALLOT
The COPE candidates behind this
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.
- Fight for Vancouver: COPE 2026 Platform (PDF) SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · pages 8 · checked