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Vancouver Lease Renewals: Backgrounder and Update

Vancouver Lease Renewals: Backgrounder and Update (2026) 

Roughly half the non-profit housing co-ops in Vancouver use land leased from the municipal government. If you look at the number of co-op homes, almost two-thirds rely on City-leased land. Leases have been a big concern for the co-op sector and CHF BC. 

After years of work, and discussions among individual co-op members, CHF BC staff, and City staff, Vancouver’s City Council unanimously approved a framework for pursuing new leases in 2021, just as the original leases started to expire in significant numbers.  

It took time to move from the adoption of the framework to the finalizing of details and the new leases themselves, but the framework has brought the promise of stability and the hope of deepening relationships between the City and the different housing co-ops.  

2026 Summer Update 

  • A growing number of housing co-ops have been approved by City Council for new long-term leases. Other co-ops are exploring possible redevelopment with the City, and they are securing shorter-term agreements as they do so.  
  • Yet another set of co-ops, which had lease extension options in their original lease agreements, have been exploring whether to exercise their options. Most co-ops with leases are not in this situation, however, and will be relying on the framework. 
  • The City’s website keeps records of Council decisions. By summer 2026, there had been multiple approvals for new long-term leases (a critical step before the actual signing of a new lease). Co-ops involved include, but are not limited to: 

For this discussion, a longer-term lease would be a lease for more than 25 years. Leases for 30 years or more attract the provincial property transfer tax. Most leases that have been agreed have been for 40 years (with a possible 20-year extension) or for 30 years (minus a day) to avoid the property transfer tax. 

Background Information 

We know that many co-op members are curious about the steps that lead up to the lease framework. We provide some relevant documents here: 

Resources for Co-ops Pursuing New Leases 

  • Key elements of the framework rely on income information from members. This information helps set the ground rent the co-op will need to pay the City for the use of the land, whether through pre-payment or through annual ground rent payments. 
  • To help co-ops collect from their members the data they need to comply with City income-testing and income reporting requirements, CHF BC offers the following:  
  1. a compliance tool document;  
  1. suggested alterations to the Occupancy Agreement (available in a PDF version or a WORD version). 

Earlier History 

The 2021 success was preceded by an earlier effort that culminated in a 2017 framework also adopted by the City Council of the day (“Options for Sustaining Affordable Co-op Housing”). Unfortunately, the framework didn’t translate into new lease agreements, but it did highlight how complicated negotiations can be even with the shared goal of maintaining and expanding co-op housing.