By: Pranjali J Mann, News Writer

BC Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is calling for Surrey municipal election candidates to make the issue of affordable housing central to their campaigns. This call to action comes in as the city continues to face “significant pressures in its housing system,” as highlighted by the Surrey Housing Needs Report. 

ACORN is a local organization which focuses on community organization for issues of “social and economic justice” for low and moderate income people including “fair fees, childcare, internet for all, housing/tenant union, and social assistance.” 

According to the 2020 Surrey Housing Needs Report, the city was in “immediate need for 17,900 affordable rental housing units.” This number was never met, and the city now needs at least 18,600 new homeownership units within the next ten years to cater to its growing population. A report by ACORN noted, “With almost 50% of BC renters spending more than 30% of their income on housing,” BC is being referred to as the “eviction capital of Canada.” 

To find out more about this and the avenues of possible solutions, The Peak interviewed Leslie MacFarlane, co-chair of the ACORN chapter in South Surrey. 

The Surrey housing crisis includes a lack of “standards of maintenance” for landlords in Surrey, according to MacFarlane. Comparing the city to other densely populated ones like Toronto and New Westminster, she said, “in Surrey the standards basically only protect people about having working appliances, and the heat, and a few minor things. But they have nothing in place to actually protect them from mold or for things falling apart. And that’s a huge problem.” 

For this, she suggested landlord licensing as a way to add accountability from the owners’ side. Just like New Westminster, the licensing would allow for “enforcement of the Standards of Maintenance bylaw, ensuring that buildings remain in good condition.” This would act as a relief for tenants that suffer from substandard housing in the city. 

MacFarlane also asked for “right of first refusal” for tenants, which would provide them with the option to move back into the new units once their buildings have been redeveloped.  

When asked what other issues residents face in the city, MacFarlane shared, “we are losing our low to moderate income rental units faster than they’re being replaced, which means that people are being displaced by the thousands with nowhere to go.” 

For this, MacFarlane suggested all levels of government invest in building social housing. “As far as I can see, the only thing that’s going to solve [this issue] is if there’s social housing built that people could move into, that have the proper standards of maintenance to replace the drastic loss because there’s a huge, exponentially larger loss of affordable housing going on,” said MacFarlane. 

You can read more about the demands and efforts of ACORN, on their website.