The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver increased 20% from $1,740 to $2,090 in the past year alone (from July 2016 to July 2017). This now exceeds the entire income of someone working full-time at the minimum wage -- about $1839 a month ($11.35/hour on Sept 15). People have nothing left for eating out, buying clothes, or otherwise contributing to the local economy.

If rents continue to increase 20% annually for four years, the average one-bedroom will cost $4,350 by the 2021 civic elections. Vancouver needs a Rent Freeze now. Therefore, we the undersigned, are calling on the Vancouver City Council to:

• Declare a “Housing State of Emergency”and officially support a 0% rent increase over the next four years

• Negotiate with the provincial government to set the maximum allowable rent increase at 0% for the next four years within the City of Vancouver.

Furthermore, to ensure that landlords do not circumvent the Rent Freeze:

• Stop renovictions by only granting renovation permits if the landlord demonstrates that any tenants forced to vacate will be allowed to return at previous rents

• Negotiate with the provincial government to ban “no-cause” evictions and to tie rent-control to the unit.

These steps do not cost much to implement, but they will make a huge differences in people’s lives.