Vancouver Greens housing plan: income-based targets, housing bonds and a renter office
The Green Party of Vancouver proposes housing targets based on 30% of median household incomes, a Vancouver Public Housing Bond for city-owned homes, required affordable homes in large developments, a fund to buy at-risk rentals, and a restored Renter's Office paid for by the Empty Homes Tax.
AFFORDABLE LIVING · PAGES 17 TO 19
Homes for People Who Call Vancouver Home: what the Platform 2026 says
The Green Party of Vancouver sets out its housing plan on pages 17 to 19 of its 2026 platform, under the heading "Homes for People Who Call Vancouver Home". The plan starts with a Vancouver Affordability Index that would track household costs against local incomes. The party describes the city's housing crisis as a crisis of affordability. Its first step is a new way to measure what counts as affordable: the platform proposes targets based on 30% of median household incomes, in place of the current measure, which it says is based on market rents.
Several commitments deal with how new homes would be paid for. The Greens would create a Vancouver Public Housing Bond, a way for people and institutions to lend money to the city for affordable, city-owned housing in return for a small, steady return. The platform also proposes inclusionary zoning, a rule that large developments must include affordable homes or give land, homes or cash toward city-owned and non-profit housing. It adds lower fees and faster permits for what it calls truly affordable housing, and a fund to buy at-risk rental buildings before they are lost.
Renters get their own section. The party would bring back a Renter's Office at City Hall, which the platform says ABC removed. The office would help tenants with city processes, track the loss of rental homes and the number of tenants forced to move, and keep a record of problem landlords. The party says the Empty Homes Tax would pay for the office, and that it could help renters cover security deposits.
City Council could do most of this alone, because it sets zoning, permit fees, city staffing and the city's own policies. Some steps need other governments. The platform asks the Province to help close Empty Homes Tax loopholes and to replace the BC Community Housing Fund. It asks the federal government to bring back a home repair program called RRAP and to provide $2 billion for homes for low-income households.
THE PARTY'S NUMBERS
Figures in this chapter
Share of median household incomes the party would use as its affordability target
The party's figure, page 17When the city's Housing Centre operated, the model the party cites for its Affordable Housing Czar
The party's figure, page 17Federal funding the party would lobby for, for homes for people on the lowest and low incomes
The party's figure, page 1913 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Creating an Affordability Index
The Greens would create a Vancouver Affordability Index that tracks real household costs against local incomes, and use that data to guide housing, transportation, taxation and planning decisions. The platform says city policies should be judged by whether they make life more affordable for residents, instead of by benchmarks it calls outdated or market-based.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides what city staff measure and report on, and how that data is used in city decisions, so it could create the index on its own.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 17
Vancouver's housing crisis is a housing affordability crisis
The Greens would set affordability targets, and report on them, using 30% of median household incomes. This would replace the current measure, which the platform says is based on market rents.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the city's own housing targets and decides what city staff report on.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 17
Recognizing the right to housing
The platform says City of Vancouver policies should be guided by the right to safe, adequate and affordable homes.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council decides the policies the city follows, so it could adopt this principle on its own.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 17
Affordable Housing Czar
The Greens would create a new city role, which the platform calls an Affordable Housing Czar, to work on partnerships and policies that deliver non-market housing (homes owned by government or non-profit groups and rented below market rent) and supportive housing (homes with support staff on site). The party compares it to the city's Housing Centre of the early 2000s, which it calls successful.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves the city budget and its staff positions, so it could create this role.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 17
Close Empty Homes Tax loopholes and test compliance
The Greens would work with the Province to close loopholes that, according to the platform, allow apartment buildings to stay empty. Before any step-by-step rate increases, they would audit and review how many owners follow the tax and how many avoid it.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The Empty Homes Tax is a City of Vancouver bylaw that the Vancouver Charter allows, and the platform itself says closing the loopholes needs the Province.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 18
City Land: Vancouver Public Housing Bonds
Using what the platform describes as the city's authority under the Vancouver Charter, the Greens would create a Vancouver Public Housing Bond to build affordable city-owned housing. The party says individual savers and large investing organisations (the platform's "retail and institutional investors") would accept a modest, predictable return in exchange for financing housing that stays publicly owned and affordable.
- Who has the power
- City Council The platform presents this as a power Council already holds under the Vancouver Charter, the provincial law that sets the city's powers.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 18
Expand tenant protections
The Greens would strengthen and enforce the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy whenever rental housing is redeveloped anywhere in the city. This would include secondary-market rentals (rented condos and suites owned by individuals), with fair compensation, relocation support and strong protections against tenants being forced out.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council makes the city's rental and tenant-protection rules for redevelopment, while the Province sets tenancy law and rent increase limits.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 18
Inclusionary zoning either on-site or in-lieu
The platform proposes inclusionary zoning: large developments would have to provide affordable homes on the same site, or instead ("in lieu") contribute land, homes or cash toward building city-owned and non-profit affordable housing.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets zoning and approves rezonings, so it can attach these requirements to large developments.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 18
Use city fees and permitting to build the housing we need
The Greens would make lower fees and levies, and faster permits, a priority for what the platform calls truly affordable housing.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council sets the city's own permit fees and charges on new buildings, and runs its own permit process.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 18
Protect affordable rentals before they're lost
The Greens would create a Rental Housing Acquisition and Preservation program to keep at-risk rental housing. It would use a dedicated fund for buying buildings quickly, along with partnerships, to protect existing affordable homes before they are lost to speculation or redevelopment.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council can set up and fund the program, and the platform says partners would share the work.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 18
Advocate to senior government partners
The platform calls for reversing what it calls Mayor Ken Sim's supportive housing ban and for renewed work with the Province on housing with supports that fit Vancouver's needs. It would urge a replacement for the BC Community Housing Fund, push for the return of Canada's RRAP (Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program), and lobby the federal government for $2 billion in funding for homes for people on the lowest and low incomes.
- Who has the power
- Province The funds and programs named here belong to the Province and the federal government, so the city can only ask, while Council itself decides where supportive housing is approved in Vancouver.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 19
Remove barriers to faith, community, and non-profit housing development
Working with partners and communities, the Greens would develop a toolkit to speed up affordable and non-profit housing on non-market lands, such as land held by faith groups, community groups and non-profits.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The city controls zoning and permits, and the platform says it would build the toolkit together with the groups involved.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 19
A City Hall That Works For Renters
The Greens would restore Vancouver's Renter's Office, which the platform calls a Green policy that ABC eliminated, as one place for tenants to get information, support and protection from being forced out. The office would help renters with City processes; track renter density, rental housing loss and tenant displacement; oversee a landlord registry and identify repeat offenders and problem properties; tie fair tenant practices to incentives for purpose-built rental buildings; work more closely with tenant advocates and housing providers; and give staff and Council better data for tenant protections. The party says the Empty Homes Tax would fund it, and that the office could back renters' security deposits to help them get stable homes.
- Who has the power
- City Council Council approves city staffing and the city budget, so it could restore this office on its own.
- Source
- Platform 2026, page 19
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about homes for people who call vancouver home
What is the Vancouver Affordability Index proposed by the Green Party of Vancouver?
The Green Party of Vancouver would create a Vancouver Affordability Index that tracks real household costs against local incomes. The party says the data would guide housing, transportation, taxation and planning decisions, and that city policies should be judged by whether they make life more affordable for residents (platform, page 17).
How does the Green Party of Vancouver define affordable housing?
The Green Party of Vancouver would set affordability targets and reporting based on 30% of median household incomes. The platform says this would replace the current measure, which it says is based on market rents (platform, page 17).
What is the Vancouver Public Housing Bond in the Green Party platform?
The Green Party of Vancouver proposes a Vancouver Public Housing Bond to pay for affordable, city-owned housing. The party says individual savers and large investing organisations (the platform's "retail and institutional investors") would accept a modest, predictable return, and the homes would stay publicly owned and affordable. It says the Vancouver Charter gives the city the power to do this (platform, page 18).
Does the Green Party of Vancouver want to bring back the Renter's Office?
Yes. The Green Party of Vancouver would restore the Renter's Office, which its platform says ABC eliminated. The office would help tenants with City processes, track rental housing loss and tenant displacement, and oversee a landlord registry. The party says the Empty Homes Tax would fund it, and that it could back renters' security deposits (platform, page 19).
What would Vancouver's Greens do about the Empty Homes Tax?
The Green Party of Vancouver would work with the Province to close loopholes that, according to its platform, allow apartment buildings to stay empty. It would audit how many owners follow the tax and how many avoid it before any step-by-step rate increases. The party would also use the tax to fund a Renter's Office (platform, pages 18 and 19).
What is the Green Party of Vancouver's position on supportive housing?
The Green Party of Vancouver calls for reversing what its platform calls Mayor Ken Sim's supportive housing ban. It would renew work with the Province to build housing with supports that fit Vancouver's needs. The party would also create an Affordable Housing Czar role to deliver non-market and supportive housing (platform, pages 17 and 19).
Do the Vancouver Greens support inclusionary zoning?
Yes. The Green Party of Vancouver would require large developments to provide affordable homes on the same site, or to contribute land, homes or cash toward city-owned and non-profit affordable housing (platform, page 18).
Could Vancouver City Council carry out the Green Party's housing plan on its own?
Much of it, yes. Council sets zoning, permit fees, city staffing and tenant rules for redevelopment, which covers the Greens' inclusionary zoning, fee cuts and Renter's Office. Other parts need other governments: the Green Party of Vancouver says it would work with the Province on Empty Homes Tax loopholes and lobby the federal government for $2 billion for low-income homes (platform, pages 18 and 19).
ON THE BALLOT
The Green Party of Vancouver 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.
- Platform 2026, Green Party of Vancouver (72-page PDF, last updated September 29, 2026) SAYS SO ITSELFGreen Party of Vancouver · pages 17 to 19 · published · checked
- City of Vancouver Vacancy Tax By-law No. 11674, the bylaw behind the Empty Homes Tax City of Vancouver · checked