More Maple Ridge renters to receive redevelopment protections

Maple Ridge is expanding protections for tenants displaced by redevelopment, approving a new tenant protection bylaw to extend safeguards to renters who were previously left uncovered under the city’s existing policy.

On June 9, council unanimously approved a new bylaw to replace Maple Ridge’s Tenant Relocation Assistance Policy.

Mayor Dan Ruimy said the move reflects council’s desire to better protect renters as the city continues to grow.

“This is really about increasing tenant protection,” Ruimy said. “We felt that was important, especially in a time of development that our city is going through.”

The new bylaw requires developers to provide financial compensation, moving assistance and a right of first refusal for eligible tenants when rental buildings are redeveloped, as well as creates a new tenant protection development permit process to ensure compliance.

It comes as Maple Ridge faces significant housing pressures. According to a staff report, the city has approximately 50 purpose-built rental buildings containing about 2,200 rental units, while the vacancy rate sits at just one percent. The report notes that many older rental buildings targeted for redevelopment provide some of the community’s most affordable housing.

One of the key discussion points at council was the role of third-party tenant relocation coordinators, who will be required to help tenants and landlords navigate the redevelopment process.

Coun. Korleen Carreras sought assurances that tenants would receive fair representation despite the coordinators being hired by developers.

Staff explained that the coordinator would be retained by the development applicant but would be responsible for assisting both tenants and landlords through the process and ensuring eligible tenants receive required protections.

Carreras questioned how independence could be guaranteed if the coordinator is paid by the developer.

Staff acknowledged the challenge, saying the intent is for coordinators to remain unbiased and act in the best interests of tenants, while noting the city will review and approve reports submitted by the coordinators as a form of oversight.

“There is a bit of a balance from staff in that we would be reviewing and approving the report, so if there were any concerns with the material, we’d have the ability to go back and ask for revisions,” staff said.

Carreras said the issue highlights the balance council must strike between supporting development and protecting vulnerable renters.

“It’s a tricky piece, but it’s an important piece when we have a lot of older stock that is being redeveloped,” she said. “Most times that older stock is the affordable rentals for folks, and we lose that affordable rental, but we’re also gaining more spaces. We need to make sure that those folks are protected during that transition.”

The bylaw maintains existing financial compensation levels, which range from three months’ rent for tenants who have occupied a unit for up to five years, to 10 months’ rent for those who have lived in a building for 16 years or more. Moving assistance payments are also increasing, with compensation rising to $1,200 for studio and one-bedroom units, $1,500 for two-bedroom units and $1,700 for larger units.

Coun. Jenny Tan raised questions about rental rates for tenants who choose to return to a redeveloped building.

She noted that some municipalities, including Burnaby, have adopted programs that subsidize rents for displaced tenants so they can return at rates similar to what they previously paid.

Staff said Maple Ridge’s current policy does not include rent subsidies and that council’s previous direction had been to transfer the existing policy into a bylaw. While staff could explore such measures in the future, they said significant work would be required to determine whether they would be feasible in the Maple Ridge market.

They also clarified that return rental rates would generally be addressed through the development approval process, housing agreements and rezoning negotiations, rather than placing the burden directly on individual tenants.

A major change in the bylaw is its broader application. Under the current policy, protections are generally triggered only when redevelopment requires a rezoning or other discretionary approval. Staff said that meant many renters living in purpose-built rental buildings could lose their homes without receiving any tenant protections if redevelopment proceeded under existing zoning.

The new bylaw removes that limitation and applies regardless of whether a rezoning is required. It also expands protections to some stratified rental units under common ownership. Eligible rental units are defined as units on properties where an owner controls seven or more dwelling units.

Carreras said that expanded scope is the most significant change.

“When this came to us before, it only was triggered when there was a rezoning application,” she said. “Almost all of our tenants were not covered by the protections.”

She said the bylaw now has “a much larger impact” because it protects renters even when redevelopment can proceed without a rezoning application.

Staff agreed, noting that tenants in many of Maple Ridge’s approximately 50 purpose-built rental buildings would now receive tenant protection measures that were previously unavailable to them.

“There’s still work to be done,” Carreras added, “but the application of it has significantly changed, so it has a much greater reach of protecting those folks that are being forced out.”