B.C. Considers Fast-Track Evictions in Supportive Housing: Dive Into the Rights-and-Safety Showdown
Jul 14, 2025
The Flashpoint: What the Minister Really Said
On a stormy Monday afternoon outside the Legislature, Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon broke political cover. Asked whether violent or persistently disruptive tenants in provincially funded supportive-housing sites could be evicted faster, he didn’t deliver the usual talking points about “balanced approaches” or “ongoing reviews.”
“We are actively considering removing certain supportive-housing facilities from coverage under the Residential Tenancy Act,” Kahlon told reporters. “That would let operators move more swiftly when somebody proves dangerous—for other residents, staff, or the neighborhood.”
Within hours, tenant-rights advocates blasted the statement as an attack on some of B.C.’s most vulnerable people, while supportive-housing operators quietly cheered. The Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre called it “state-sponsored displacement.” A veteran site manager in Surrey texted a single emoji: 🙏.
Why Supportive Housing Exists—And Why It’s in Crisis
Supportive housing is the last stop before literal homelessness for people living with severe mental illness, addictions, acquired brain injury, or chronic poverty. Units typically come with on-site staff, harm-reduction services, and connections to health care.
But the model is cracking. Operators from Victoria to Kelowna report:
Violence against staff up 41 % since 2021.
Three in ten units in some buildings damaged or unusable because of flooding, fires, or vandalism.
Turnover among front-line workers topping 60 % annually in high-acuity buildings.
Why? Multiple staff cite an acuity boom—the province now places residents with more complex psychiatric and substance-use profiles into buildings that were never designed—or funded—for 24/7 clinical care.
The Residential Tenancy Act: Shield or Straitjacket?
Under the RTA, evicting a market-rent tenant for violence can already take months. In supportive housing it’s even harder:
Proof threshold: Operators must gather police reports, incident logs, witness statements—hard to obtain when witnesses fear retaliation.
Arbitration backlog: Residential Tenancy Branch hearings for “endangerment” cases can stretch 45–90 days.
Re-housing obligation: Operators must often find alternative shelter for evictees, or face accusations of “dumping” them onto city streets.
Providers say the RTA, built for standard landlord-tenant relationships, cannot handle 24-hour trauma environments where one tenant’s relapse can endanger dozens.
Case Files: When “Housing First” Collides With Public Safety
Case A — Nanaimo, 2024
A resident wielding a machete threatened staff and neighbors. Police arrested him, but bail conditions allowed return to the same unit. Eviction attempt took 82 days; staff turnover tripled.
Case B — Prince George, 2023
A woman set her mattress ablaze during a psychotic episode. Sprinklers flooded two floors; damage exceeded $600k. Tribunal ruled the fire was linked to disability; eviction denied.
Case C — Vancouver, 2025
Fentanyl dealing from a seventh-floor unit caused three hallway overdoses in one week. Operator obtained evidence but hearing delayed twice. When eviction finally approved, tenant had already moved—replaced by another unscreened referral.
Operators Speak Out: “We’re Running De-Facto Trauma Hospitals—Without the Tools”
Operators like RainCity, Lookout, and Atira say the province “medicalized” supportive housing without matching medical staff ratios. They want:
Immediate safety-based evictions (24–48 hrs) for serious violence or trafficking.
A specialized tribunal—faster than the RTB—with trauma-informed but security-focused adjudicators.
New funding streams for on-site psychiatric nursing and de-escalation teams.
One East Van building manager recounts a night shift alone with 75 residents: “If a knife comes out, I call 911, hide in the office, and pray.”
Tenants’-Rights Advocates Fire Back: “You Can’t Evict Your Way to Safety”
Pivot Legal Society, First United, and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association warn:
Evictions simply push violence into parks, buses, and emergency rooms.
Removing RTA protections opens door to arbitrary removal and “social cleansing.”
Disability and human-rights law require government to accommodate—not eject—people whose behaviors stem from illness.
Lawyer Anna Cooper argues: “Removing tenancy protections because someone is sick or addicted is discrimination, full stop.”
Legal Minefield: Charter Rights, Disability Law, and the Duty to Accommodate
If B.C. creates an RTA-exempt eviction regime, legal scholars predict:
Charter s. 7 challenges: life, liberty, security of the person.
Human Rights Code complaints: discrimination on mental-disability grounds.
International covenant arguments: Canada’s obligation to provide adequate housing.
A 2019 Ontario Superior Court ruling (Wetston v. TCHC) upheld expedited evictions in supportive housing—but B.C.’s legal context is different. Prepare for years of litigation.
The Proposed Fix: Exemptions, Licences, or a Whole New Act?
The ministry is floating three models:
Full RTA Exemption: Supportive sites governed like health facilities under Community Care and Assisted Living Act rules.
Partial Exemption: Keep rent-increase caps but allow 72-hour “behavioral evictions” with internal appeal panels.
Standalone Supportive-Housing Act: Blends tenancy rights with clinical-care oversight, similar to Scotland’s Supported Housing regime.
Kahlon signals preference for Option 2—a surgical carve-out to sidestep the slow tribunal while retaining basic tenancy safeguards.
What Other Jurisdictions Do
Ontario: Supportive-housing providers can issue 10-day N6 evictions for violence; backlog still a problem.
Scotland: Uses Short Scottish Secure Tenancies—six-month probationary leases convertible to permanent if behavior stabilizes.
New York City: “Tiered” supportive residences; high-acuity buildings operate under Department of Health regs, not landlord-tenant law.
Each model balances safety and rights differently, offering B.C. policymakers a menu of imperfect options.
Big Picture: Mental-Health Funding, Police Download, and the Politics of Disorder
Critics say focusing on eviction distracts from root issues:
Beds vs. supports: B.C. added 3,800 supportive units since 2018 but only 150 full-time mental-health workers.
Policing costs: Vancouver Police report 18,000 mental-health calls in 2024—up 22 %.
Public anger: Mayors facing tent cities demand action; opposition MLAs accuse the NDP of “warehousing chaos.”
With a 2026 provincial election looming, the government must balance civil-liberties backlash with public-safety optics.
Timeline to Decision
August 2025: Stakeholder round-tables; ministry legal counsel drafts exemption language.
October 2025: Cabinet approval sought; expect fierce caucus debate.
January 2026: Earliest date for legislative amendment; court challenges could be filed same week.
2026–27: Pilot buildings in Vancouver, Surrey, Nanaimo test fast-track eviction model; outcomes monitored.
Winners, Losers, and Unanswered Questions
Winners:
Front-line staff who face daily violence.
Neighboring residents tired of 911 calls.
Politicians eager to show “action” on disorder.
Losers:
Tenants with high-acuity mental illness lacking alternative placements.
Civil-liberties advocates bracing for mass displacement.
Municipal shelters that will absorb evictees.
Unanswered:
Where will “problem tenants” go?
Will fast evictions deter violence—or just relocate it?
Can the province avoid Charter challenges by pairing eviction powers with guaranteed alternative housing plus wrap-around care?
The Takeaway
B.C.’s move to strip supportive housing of full Residential Tenancy Act coverage would be the province’s most radical housing-rights rollback in decades. Backers call it overdue protection for staff and vulnerable co-tenants. Critics see it as a shortcut that criminalizes illness and poverty.
The legislative clock is ticking. By early 2026, the government must convince courts, communities, and—most of all—the people living in supportive housing that faster evictions will make them safer, not homeless. Until then, every assault, overdose, or hallway fire will fuel a debate no one in British Columbia can ignore.
