The B.C. government said it is implementing new measures to help residents with middle incomes access homes faster.
Called BC Builds, it will lower construction costs and speed up timelines, according to Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon.
The goal of the project is to bring down building costs to construct more homes for middle-income budgets, Kahlon explained.
The program will focus first on rental housing so residents can find below-market units that cost less than 30 per cent of their monthly income. The government said British Columbians are spending more than half of their household income on housing, which pushes people out of communities and contributes to the labour shortage.
The province has earmarked $950 million for the program.
“Anyone looking for a place to live knows how hard it is – even if you make a decent salary there are not enough rental homes people can afford,” Premier David Eby said in a statement.
“The private sector alone has not been able to deliver the homes middle-class people in B.C. need. That’s why we’re taking action through BC Builds to deliver lower-cost middle-income homes, faster, so the people who keep our communities working – like teachers, nurses, and construction workers – can find homes they can afford in the communities they love.”
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At least 20 per cent of all BC Build homes will have rents at least 20 per cent below market rate for projects in partnership with non-profits and First Nations.
All households for BC Builds homes will be income tested at move-in.
The income threshold for these homes will be $84,000 for a single income and $191,000 for a household income.
“For the income guidelines, the goal here is to communicate roughly what income levels would need to be to get into the 30 per cent neighbourhood in terms of income,” Eby said.
“It doesn’t prohibit somebody from paying more of their income to access housing, no one is being blocked from accessing housing.”
The announcement comes as the Union of BC Municipalities’ Housing Summit 2024 gets underway in Vancouver.
That two-day conference will delve into the housing crisis in the province, consider solutions for affordability and attainability, and examine the effects of recent provincial changes to legislation impacting development.
The province’s four-point housing strategy commits $4 billion over three years and $12 billion over a decade to boosting stock and lowering prices. It also promised changes to provincewide zoning laws to allow more townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and row homes, and a new tax on the proceeds of house-flipping.
Last September, the federal government announced it would eliminate the GST on the construction of all new rental apartment buildings.
Shortly afterward, B.C. brought in two new measures under its multi-billion-dollar housing plan: a new guide for homeowners who want to build and manage a rental suite on their property, and a one-stop shop digital hub for homebuilding permit applications to help clear backlogs. Both were launched in anticipation of planned legislation to make secondary suites legal throughout B.C. and an incentive program offering some 3,000 homeowners forgivable loans of up to $40,000 to build and rent them below market rate.
In November, B.C. introduced its legislation to legalize small-scale, multi-unit homes in cities provincewide. Under the new legislation municipalities of 5,000 people or more will be required to update their zoning rules, allowing for three to four units on a standard residential lot, and up to six units on larger lots near rapid transit.
Communities must also allow at least one laneway home or secondary suite on single-family or duplex lots.