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July Meeting, City Hall Updates, Support Pinecrest, and more...

July Meeting, City Hall Updates, Support Pinecrest, and more...
Photo by Mark Olsen on Unsplash

Hi Everyone,

This is a packed newsletter! This issue includes our Public Meeting Agenda, some ways to support our neighbours displaced by the Pinecrest Manor fire, summaries of what's been going on at City Hall concerning renters the last few months, renter news across Canada, and information about the Repeal ARI-C campaign.

Public Meeting - July 28th @ 6:30pm

This month as the municipal election gets closer, we are starting to plan how to show City Hall that they need to take renters seriously as a political force in New Westminster. Join us for our Public Meeting (in an air conditioned space!) this Tuesday, July 28th, 2026, from 6:30pm to 7:45pm. The meeting is being held in the basement auditorium at the New Westminster Public Library (716 6th Avenue, New Westminster).

This meeting will focus on our plan mobilize renters to city hall in September, opportunities for input on the NWTU potentially joining the Metro Vancouver Alliance, and a workshop on how to get people out to political actions.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

  1. Community Agreement
  2. State of the Union Updates:
    1. Building Organizing Updates
      1. Main organizing project update
      2. Member organizing projects
    2. Election Organizing Updates
    3. Tenant Relocation Policy Approval
  3. Member Consultation: NWTU Joining the Metro Vancouver Alliance
    1. Associated Fees and Responsibilities
    2. Potential Benefits
  4. Mini Workshop: Mobilizing your Neighbours - Tips, Strategies, and Practice on how to get people to show up

Pinecrest Manor Support

On July 10th, tragically the tenants of Pinecrest Manor lost their homes to a fire. As tenants rebuild they are searching for new places to live in New Westminster. If you know of rentals that are opening up, especially in pet friendly buildings, you can either let us know by email and we can pass the information on, or post the lead on the Friends of Pinecrest Manor Facebook Group. If you have information on the conditions of buildings with open rentals, you can also pass that information on to us by email, and we can share it anonymously.

You can also email admin@newwestnh.ca to see if New West Schools and Neighbourhood house are still accepting donations for Pinecrest Manor renters.

Renter Issues at City Hall

It's been a busy few months at City Hall for renters. A more detailed summary of each item is provided below:

  • Tenant Relocation Policy Approved (July 13th 2026)
  • Cooling Protections Bylaw Approved (June 8th 2026, Adopted July 13 2026)
  • Getting Province to Create an Indigenous Led Housing Alliance (May 25, 2026)
  • Updates to scope of the Inclusionary Housing Policy (June 8th, 2026)
  • Debate in Council about if city should ban using Royal Towers density funding to help build more affordable housing, and instead use it to build amenities downtown (June 22nd, 2026)

Tenant Relocation Policy Approved - July 13 2026 (Item 4.8), - This is great news for renters, and was passed quite quietly on the consent agenda (no debate, passed unanimously). The NWTU has been involved in pushing for these protections since 2023. The policy can be found here.

Cooling Bylaw - June 8 2026 (Item 9.1)- Cooling Bylaw approved that requires at least one living space in an occupied rental unit to not exceed a safe indoor temperature of an average of 26°C between 8:00 pm and 8:00 am, April 1st to October 31st every year. (See Civic Info BC for more information)

Indigenous Led Housing Alliance May 25 2026 - Councillor McEvoy put forward a motion (Item 6.3) for the City of New West, when meeting at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM), ask the UBCM tell the Provincial Government to make an "Indigenous Led Cross Sectional Housing Alliance". The alliance is supposed to get different sectors working together to make safe and adequate housing "essential infrastructure" like roads and electricity. The motion said this alliance should be indigenous led partially because so many indigenous people are experiencing homelessness. This was carried unanimously in the June 8th meeting (Item 7.3).

Inclusionary Housing Policy - May 25 2026, Announced June 8th 2026 (Item 11)- Some housekeeping around applying the Inclusionary Housing Policy Requirements to rental housing being built by non-profits and rental housing development applications that require an amendment to the official community plan. The Inclusionary Housing Policy requires a certain number of units in new buildings to be affordable rental units. The resolution also made it more clear what is meant by affordable rent. This resolution was decided in a closed part of the meeting on May 25th and the resolution was announced June 8th. For more information on the legal reasons council meetings can be closed click here.

Density Funding Debate - June 22 2026 (Item 5.12) - Councilor Fontaine wanted to make sure that the 11.6 million dollars in density funding from the Royal Towers development project could not be used for affordable housing, and instead had to be used for building amenities downtown. He argued that because Royal Towers Project is building replacement units for all the people currently living in Royal Towers, this is enough affordable housing. He also argued the province and federal government should handle affordable housing, not the city. Councilor Nakagawa pointed out that Royal Towers is in Brow of the Hill, not downtown, and that funding for amenities should include Brow of the Hill. Councilor Fontaine agreed with this. Councilor Minhas voiced support for Councilor Fontaine’s points.

Councilor McEvoy argued that housing is a huge issue for people in New West and the option to use some of this money to help build more affordable housing should not be taken off the table. Mayor Johnstone made the point that the Royal Towers project is securing existing affordable units long term, not creating additional affordable housing. The Mayor also stated the city’s Affordable Housing Fund provides very small amounts of money to housing projects compared to higher government, as a way to get more housing built in New West. The Mayor and Henderson made points about how funding is currently being allocated to building amenities downtown, and how even if some of the 11.6 million went to affordable housing, a lot of the funding would still go towards amenities. 

Renter News

Repeal ARI-C Campaign

Folks across the lower mainland have been working on a provincial campaign to repeal the Additional Rent Increases for Capital Expenditures in BC. An ARI-C is a process that allows a landlord to increase the rent of their existing tenants to cover the costs of maintaining and renovating the property. The rent increases never go away, they compound year after year, and there is often no way to appeal the decision. We have already seen many buildings across New Westminster get hit by ARI-Cs, and every rental building is at risk until this law is repealed.

Website: https://www.repealaric.com

Letter writing Campaign: https://www.repealaric.com/letter/

If you would like to see the NWTU join the fight against ARI-Cs, we need help and dedicated volunteers to make that a reality! Come out to our public meeting or reach out by email to get involved and get this project started.

Get Involved

Can't make the meeting? Want to join our volunteer, renter-led action team to fight for affordable, safe and stable housing for our community? We want to meet with you! Send us an email at nwtenantsunion@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 778-358-2680.

We are always on the lookout for Building Contacts who can support the New West Tenants Union's work by keeping us posted of issues at rental buildings around the city.

Learn more about Building Contacts and what your role could be in organizing for stronger tenants' rights in your building here.

Published by:

New West Tenants Union