Four years ago, we highlighted the situation with leasehold co-ops in the City of Vancouver. Today, we wanted to provide a little update.

July 2021 was an important month for housing co-ops. After years of work (and lobbying) on the part of co-op members, CHF BC staff, and City of Vancouver staff, Vancouver’s City Council unanimously approved a new framework for lease renewals. It has taken longer than expected, but the first co-ops have now seen new leases approved.

We celebrate the security these new arrangements will bring and look forward to more co-ops coming to agreements with the City.

The background information and resources below are still relevant and we hope will be of use to other leasehold co-ops.

Primary Background

• City of Vancouver Lease Renewal Framework, CHF BC consolidation (July 2021)
• CHF BC’s History of the 30% of income measure (2021)
• Methodology for Co-op Housing Lease Renewals (June 14, 2021)
• Minutes to City Council Meeting (July 7 and 8, 2021)
• Co-op Housing Lease Discussion Paper (January 28, 2020)
• Housing Income Limits (2021)
• CMHC Rental Market Data (October 2020)

Noting a Previous Effort (2017 Framework: Options for Sustaining Affordable Co-op Housing)

• City Administrative Report (2017)
• Minutes of Meeting (February 8, 2017)

Resources

• Key elements of the framework rely on income information from members.
• To help collecting data to comply with City income testing and income reporting requirements we offer the following: (1) introduction; (2a) PDF version of potential changes to the Occupancy Agreement; (2b) WORD version.

2025 Update

• A growing number of co-ops have been approved by City Council for new long-term leases. Other co-ops are exploring possible redevelopment with the City and are securing shorter-term agreements as they do so.
• In July 2025, Cedar Mill and Pacific Heights joined a handful of other co-ops in getting Council approval to move ahead with a new 40-year lease.

(This note was originally posted on July 13, 2021. The most recent update was July 30, 2025.)