The Tyee published a housing report card today on ABC Vancouver, the party that has led city council for four years. Housing was one of the main issues when voters elected this council. Vancouver's general voting day is Saturday, October 17.
What got faster
ABC's main housing promise was a permitting target called 3-3-3-1: three days for a renovation, three weeks for a detached house, three months for a multi-family or mid-rise building, and one year for a highrise.
The party told The Tyee this term was about turning "Vancouver's housing system from one built on delay into one built on speed and supply." The figures it gave The Tyee:
- 92% of renovation permits are now issued within three days.
- The wait for a laneway-house application has been cut in half since 2022.
- Approvals for detached homes improved by 36%.
- Approvals for multi-family and mid-rise projects improved by 46%.
- 896 multiplex homes had been approved by the end of 2025. A multiplex means more than one home on a lot that used to hold a single house.
Those numbers come from the party, reported by The Tyee. They are not a separate audit.
Council also approved a multiplex policy, removed minimum parking requirements, and updated the Broadway Plan, the city's plan for more housing along Broadway. If you own a lot in Vancouver, or you rent in an older building on that corridor, those changes can show up on your block.
Where the record falls short
ABC told The Tyee it has "not consistently reached the service standards" in that 3-3-3-1 target. Faster than four years ago is a different claim from hitting the clock the party set.
The party also said below-market and non-profit housing still needs the provincial and federal governments. It told The Tyee the city cannot build that housing at scale on its own.
Other votes went a different way. ABC councillors closed the city's renters' office and froze new supportive housing (homes with on-site help). A staff proposal for 20-storey social housing buildings did not pass. The Villages Plan, which would have allowed more homes and shop streets in many neighbourhoods, failed after a full public hearing. A separate city company to build rentals on city land was voted down. That idea needed a two-thirds vote.
Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, told The Tyee, "The intent was to make things faster, but that doesn't necessarily bring a deeper understanding of the city."
He also raised upkeep. The Tyee reports that an audit last year found 72% of Vancouver's recreation facilities were in poor or very poor condition. COPE councillor Sean Orr told The Tyee, "We simply have not built enough deeply affordable and shelter-rate housing." Shelter-rate means a rent someone on income assistance can pay.
What the parties are offering
Saturday's vote is yours to make. A few housing lines are specific enough to compare.
OneCity says it would build 4,000 affordable homes on city-owned land. COPE says it would triple the empty homes tax, the tax on homes left vacant. TEAM for a Livable Vancouver says enough housing is already planned to meet population growth until 2050, and it would repeal the Broadway Plan. The Green Party, OneCity and COPE each say they would end the supportive-housing freeze and bring the renters' office back.
OneCity councillor Lucy Maloney told The Tyee that low-rise apartments are "illegal in 70 per cent of our city." That 70% is her figure.
What this means for you
If you are renovating or buying in the City of Vancouver, the practical piece is the permit claim. ABC says 92% of renovation permits now go out within three days, which matches the target it set. Multiplexes are past the idea stage: 896 had been approved by the end of 2025. Before you budget a project, ask what the current rules allow on that lot.
If you rent in Vancouver, the renters' office is closed, and several parties want it back. A campaign promise does not change your rights under provincial tenancy law this week.
If you are a newcomer comparing Vancouver with the Tri-Cities, BC, keep the boundaries straight. Coquitlam, Port Moody and Port Coquitlam each write their own zoning. Vancouver's Broadway Plan stops at the city line. My leasing covers all of Greater Vancouver, so choose the city that fits your commute.
Looking for a realtor in Coquitlam, or help finding a rental before you move? If you are buying, start with my guide for home buyers. For neighbourhoods, read my guide to relocating to Greater Vancouver. If you need a rental first, here is my rental search help for tenants. Tell me where you will work and how you will get there.