UNA directors voted unanimously to request action from UBC to address ongoing issues with housing affordability on campus during their April meeting.
A motion to address a letter to UBC’s Board of Governors and UBC Properties Trust calling on the university to meet its commitment of offering faculty and staff housing at approximately 25 per cent below the average rents in surrounding communities was led by Board chair Eagle Glassheim and director Michael Kearns.
A draft of the letter included in the meeting’s agenda mentions increasing vacancy rates and a “softening rental market” in Vancouver, while campus rents fail to adjust to those market dynamics.
“UBC faculty/staff rents have not adjusted to reflect the changing rental market in Vancouver,” reads the draft letter, signed by Glassheim.
“Most 2-bedroom UBC apartments are now priced over the West Side average ($2,503-$2,907), not at 25 per cent below market rents.”
Director Kearns said a failure by the university to address its housing affordability commitment will result in a “slow drain” of UBC staff from the campus neighbourhoods.
“The vibrancy of the neighbourhood at its core is the people who live here, faculty and staff being very central to that,” Kearns said. “And just anecdotally, I have heard and I have seen people who are leaving faculty and staff rental housing because of the reduced prices in neighbouring communities.”
During discussion of the motion, UBC Community Development and Transportation Director Carole Jolly said information meetings discussing the university’s housing plan and the real estate market could be arranged for interested parties.
The Board’s move follows ongoing housing affordability issues for UBC staff, faculty, and students.
Last summer, Village Gate Homes – the UBC-affiliated entity managing staff and faculty housing – announced a 12-month rent freeze as of September 1, 2025 after criticism over rent increases at a time when inflation was rising but declines in rental rates were being reported across Vancouver.
Not everyone was spared though. In spring 2025, UBC Student Housing and Community Services hit Acadia Park tenants with a 3.5 per cent rent hike, reduced from an earlier planned 5 per cent increase that sparked a tenant backlash.
Tree inventory report
Earlier in the meeting, directors received a delegation of UBC researchers who presented findings from a recently completed report that was said to include an inventory of every tree in five campus neighbourhoods.
Areas covered in the report include Chancellor Place, Hawthorne Place, East Campus, Hampton Place, and Wesbrook Place.
report that has documented and recorded an inventory of all trees in the campus neighbourhoods. (Photo: Evan Shea)
Researchers said the report will provide baseline data about trees in the neighbourhoods and natural areas within them, such as Rhododendron Woods in Hawthorne Place and the Chancellor forest Patch in north campus.
A total of 4,087 trees were added to the inventory, with the most common species being Western Red Cedar. A total of 96 unique species were identified along with 54 genera, including varieties of cherry and maple.
Directors were told that efforts are underway to have the information available online for the public.
Garden committee request
Also during the April meeting, a campus resident made a request for the reinstatement of a public committee that can assist with the management of the UNA’s community gardens.
Resident Brian Savage said a previous iteration of the committee existed in Hawthorne Place, and reinstating it would allow community members who have access to garden plots to play a greater role in their management.
Directors asked staff to report back to the board on how reinstatement of the committee would work alongside the UNA’s Community Engagement Advisory Committee (CEAC), which is tasked to represent community interests and provide advice to directors with a goal to improve engagement of residents in community life.
The UNA gardens have been very popular among residents, with hundreds of people currently on a waiting list. Some have waited as many as five years to access one.
A total of five community garden sites are located around campus with 246 assigned plots. They include Nobel Garden, Rhodo Garden, Greenway North, Greenway South, and Hawthorn Garden.
Residents wishing to place their name on the waiting list can visit myuna.ca/gardens.
EMMANUEL SAMOGLOU IS THE MANAGING EDITOR OF THE CAMPUS RESIDENT.