--- title: "COPE on housing | Vancouver 2026 | voche.me" canonical_url: "https://voche.me/parties/cope/platform/housing" last_updated: "2026-09-23T06:08:05.380Z" meta: description: "COPE’s published platform would tax properties above $5 million at 1% to fund ending homelessness, buy apartments as permanent public housing, close the va..." "og:description": "COPE’s published platform would tax properties above $5 million at 1% to fund ending homelessness, buy apartments as permanent public housing, close the va..." "og:title": "COPE on housing | Vancouver 2026" "twitter:description": "COPE’s published platform would tax properties above $5 million at 1% to fund ending homelessness, buy apartments as permanent public housing, close the va..." "twitter:title": "COPE on housing | Vancouver 2026" --- COPE · Vancouver 2026 # A 1% tax on homes worth more than $5 million COPE’s published platform would tax properties above $5 million at 1% to fund ending homelessness, buy apartments as permanent public housing, close the vacancy loophole and stop demovictions. [Compare all parties on this ](https://voche.me/parties/issues/housing) [All ten issues](https://voche.me/parties/cope/platform) [**12**Candidates](https://voche.me/parties/cope/candidates) [**9/10**Issues with published policy](https://voche.me/parties/cope/platform) [**6**Sources on file](https://voche.me/parties/cope/money) **9**Questions answered HOUSING SUPPLY AND RENTAL RULES ## COPE on housing These commitments come from COPE’s April 2025 by-election platform, which was still the platform published on its website on September 22, 2026. The mansion tax is the most specific number on it: 1% on property values above $5 million, to pay for ending homelessness. COPE would also have the city buy existing apartment buildings and convert them to permanently affordable public housing and co-ops, naming Montreal as the model. The vacancy loophole it names is the rule that lets a landlord raise rent without limit between tenants. Rent control between tenancies is provincial law, so a city cannot close that gap on its own. 7 PUBLISHED COMMITMENTS ## What they say they will do - ### A 1% tax on property values above $5 million COPE would end homelessness with a tax on what it calls the mansions of the super-rich: a progressive property tax of 1% on values exceeding $5 million.
Cost
1% above $5 million
Who has the power
Council sets property tax. A new tax class may need provincial approval.
[COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) - ### Buy apartments and convert them to public housing The city would buy apartment buildings and turn them into permanently affordable public housing and co-ops, following Montreal’s municipal approach. [COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) - ### Close the vacancy loophole COPE would close the loophole that lets landlords raise rents without limit between tenants.
Who has the power
Rent control between tenancies is set by provincial tenancy law.
[COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) - ### Stop demovictions COPE would stop demovictions and address city-owned vacant land and what it calls exclusionary mansion districts. [COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) - ### Increase and tighten the Empty Homes Tax COPE would keep increasing the tax, apply a partial vacancy tax to exempt new builds, increase enforcement and close loopholes.
Who has the power
The Empty Homes Tax is a City of Vancouver tax.
[COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) - ### Create a landlord registry A registry would track rents and allow enforcement against landlords with patterns of violations. [COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) - ### Bring back the renters office with enforcement powers COPE would restore the renters office and give it new enforcement powers. [COPE](https://www.votecope.ca/platform) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ## Questions about this
Is this COPE’s 2026 platform? No. The platform published on the party website on September 22, 2026 is its April 2025 by-election platform. We have kept its date attached to every commitment because it was written for a different election. COPE
Can the city close the vacancy loophole? No. The rule that lets a landlord raise the rent without limit when one tenant leaves and another arrives is provincial tenancy law. A city can ask the province to change it, and can act on the taxes and registries it does control. COPE
## Sources A source marked SAYS SO ITSELF is the party's own material. It proves what the party claims, not that the claim is true. 1. [COPE home page ](https://www.votecope.ca/)SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · checked September 22, 2026 2. [COPE platform (April 2025 by-election platform, still published September 2026) ](https://www.votecope.ca/platform)SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · published April 5, 2025 · checked September 22, 2026 3. [Who is running: official 2026 candidate list ](https://vancouver.ca/your-government/2026-candidate-information.aspx)City of Vancouver · checked September 22, 2026 4. [Local elections disclosure statement search ](https://contributions.electionsbc.gov.bc.ca/pcs/LESearch.aspx)Elections BC · checked September 22, 2026 5. [Elector organizations: registration and financial reporting duties ](https://elections.bc.ca/local-elections/elector-organizations/)Elections BC · checked September 22, 2026 6. [Making a campaign contribution ](https://elections.bc.ca/local-elections/making-a-campaign-contribution/)Elections BC · checked September 22, 2026 ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.