Emily Lowan's BC Greens promise fee caps, new protections for leasehold residents | Daily Hive

Emily Lowan's BC Greens promise fee caps and new protections for leasehold residents

Downtown Vancouver's West End neighbourhood. (AlbertArt/Shutterstock)

The Green Party of British Columbia is promising to limit rising fees and give residents with long-term leasehold contracts a more affordable way to challenge their building owners.

Earlier this week, party leader Emily Lowan announced she would push for new legislation addressing maintenance bills, financial transparency, residents’ representation, and the cost of resolving disputes.

The proposal focuses on long-term residential leasehold arrangements that fall outside the protections provided by B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Act and Strata Property Act.

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In 2024, the provincial government estimated that approximately 2,500 homes across about 20 buildings fall into this category, with the largest concentrations in Victoria and Downtown Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood.

Under leasehold arrangements, buyers purchase the right to occupy a home for a set period, often initially 99 years. They can sell their interest to another buyer, who receives the remaining time on the lease. The arrangement does not give them ownership of the building.

The Greens assert that residents face steep increases in building expenses without sufficient access to financial records or an affordable process for contesting charges.

“People living in housing subject to long-term leasehold contracts aren’t protected by the law, and corporate landlords are taking full advantage, squeezing exorbitant profits out of people’s homes,” said Lowan.

The party’s proposed legislation would cap fee increases and special assessments — additional bills charged to residents beyond their regular payments. It would also require reserve funds to help cover future expenses and give residents months of notice before payments are due.

Building owners would face restrictions on charging residents for renovations and other capital improvements, and would be prohibited from passing their own legal costs on to leaseholders.

To make building spending easier to scrutinize, the Greens would require audited financial statements and multiple independent quotes for major projects. Residents would be entitled to review those quotes and related reports.

Leaseholders would also gain the right to establish an association — similar to a strata association — and meet with the building owner and use shared spaces to organize.

For disputes, the party proposes allowing residents to turn to the Civil Resolution Tribunal or Residential Tenancy Branch, providing an alternative to proceedings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. Dispute costs could not be passed on to residents.

The announcement follows the findings of the provincial government’s consultation in 2024 led by BC NDP Vancouver-West End MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert.

The provincial general election is scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters in each of the province’s 93 ridings will select their MLA, and the overall result will help determine which provincial party forms government and who becomes premier.

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