The British Columbia government is tackling the affordability crisis with new legislation.
On Tuesday, Premier David Eby introduced the Housing Supply Act; the proposed legislation would speed up housing development and increase supply by allowing the province to set housing targets in the fastest-growing cities.
The province says the new housing targets would encourage municipalities to address local barriers to construction, including updating zoning bylaws and streamlining local development approval processes.
“Increased provincial leadership, guidance and resources around the municipal housing approvals process has been long-needed policy in B.C., and this is a strong first step,” says Trevor Hargreaves, SVP of government relations at BCREA.
The Housing Supply Act builds on existing requirements for local governments to create Housing Needs Reports that identify housing demand and supply factors in their jurisdictions. Initially, the province expects housing targets to be established in consultation with approximately eight to 10 municipalities.
“Working with local governments to identify barriers and obstacles in their housing development processes is a much-needed collaborative resource for municipalities,” BCREA said in a statement. “The Housing Needs Report is a key tool to set regional housing targets.”
If passed, the new legislation will go into effect in mid-2023.
Also announced Tuesday, the B.C. government will amend the Strata Property Act to remove all rental-restriction bylaws and to limit age-restriction bylaws.
High interest rates don’t help with affordability!!! Would be good to tackle that so buyers can afford a home.
Spitting into the wind. Until gov’ts issue directives to the bureaucrats and provide incentives to developers to build affordable housing (and hold them to it), this will go nowhere. The bureaucracy is beholden to the planning by-laws – affordability carries no weight in the re-zoning process and actually hinders it due to the NIMBY’s that come out in opposition (luxury condo yes, low income housing no!). Ontario has gone a little over-board with their new proposals but the current system is not set up to achieve the results we need as a functioning society so maybe it’s worth considering. (People living in tents and cars is not a functioning society.)
A hybrid of Ontario and the current BC announcements might remedy the situation but not perfect. A little late but better late than never. A multi-faucet and disciplined approach is needed at all levels from BoC, to foreign investors, to supply, to incentives and so on….it’s a hard battle forward specially for first time home buyers. Landlord and tenant boards also need a kick in the head to wake up to the reality of what renters and landlords are facing…..what a mess.
Feels like the only one that could benefit from this is an investor.
NDP plans to amend Strata Property Act to remove age and rental restrictions will create opportunities for investors. This will serve to drive prices up, making it even more difficult for young families to find a first home. It also is creating real concern among seniors in my own strata that we now run the risk of just one difficult tenant upsetting the current strong sense of community we enjoy.