NDP leadership candidate David Eby on Wednesday laid out a broad, aggressive plan to address housing affordability.
In his first major policy announcement of the NDP leadership race, Eby said if he becomes premier, he would impose a “flipping tax” on the sale of residential properties.
The tax would be highest for those who hold properties for the shortest period of time, and would phase out after two years and go down to zero the longer the property is held.
The tax would include exemptions for life circumstances due to, for example, death, employment loss, divorce or disability. Builders would also be exempted in a bid to encourage housing construction.
“The objective is to prevent flipping rather than generate revenue to a select few. Therefore, there will be significant notice in advance of implementation to allow people to sell their investment properties and increase housing supply in the market,” a policy document from the Eby campaign reads.
“Because this is designed to discourage real estate speculation, any revenue will go back into building homes for British Columbians.”
Eby served as housing minister from 2020 until John Horgan announced in June he was stepping down and Eby resigned to launch his leadership campaign.
The perceived frontrunner gained name recognition as an opposition MLA for his policies to address the province’s affordability crisis leading up to the 2017 provincial election.
Anjali Appadurai is the only other candidate. She has not yet officially been cleared to run in the race.
An Eby government would also legalize secondary suites in all areas of the province, and would allow homebuilders in major urban centres to replace a single-family home with up to three units on the same footprint, consistent with existing setbacks and height requirements.
Reforms to municipal approvals processes would also be urgently implemented, alongside municipalities, his campaign said.
“Housing should first and foremost provide homes for people, not profits for investors,” Eby said.
“We’ve made progress by taxing speculation and building thousands of new homes, but across this province, I see the desperate need to do much more to bring down the costs of housing.”
To build new homes, he is proposing an initiative called B.C. Builds using partnerships and the province’s legal powers, financing ability, and public land to fast-track the construction of affordable, middle-class housing in rural towns and urban cities, including a special focus on Indigenous housing, both on and off reserve.
Eby said he would also establish a new rental housing acquisition fund, deploying $500 million in capital support to partner with First Nations, non-profits, and co-ops to buy and protect at-risk affordable rental housing and discourage investor speculation.
This would be paired with new tools to crack down on speculators, seize the proceeds of crime when they flow into real estate, close loopholes, and freeze short-term profit-making.
The sweeping policy announcement would build on the 30-part housing plan the current government is implementing.
There is no mention of the $400 renters’ rebate promised by John Horgan in the last two provincial elections.
The NDP is set to host its leadership convention in November, with a plans to announce a new leader on Dec. 3.
Additional items in the Eby housing plan:
- Provincial permitting for housing will be ‘one-stop’ and simplified.
- Strata restrictions on rentals will be removed.
- The 19+ age restrictions in some strata will be abolished so that young families don’t have to move out if they have a child.
- Strata restrictions for ‘seniors only’ will remain in place to ensure seniors have accessible retirement communities.
- Municipalities’ ‘housing needs plans’ will be used to set minimum standards for housing delivery.
- Short-term rental companies will be required to provide cities and regions with information about unlicensed short-term rental units in their community.
- Double B.C.’s capital grants for non-profits to allow shovel-ready projects in high-need communities.
- Increase the Indigenous Housing Fund and engage further First Nations and Indigenous-led housing groups to fund, build, and/or support housing for Indigenous people both in and away from traditional communities.
- Increase staff support and services for people living in supportive housing including culturally appropriate programming, treatment, and care for residents.
- Establishing by law a right of first refusal for acquiring at-risk homes and secure renters’ housing.
- Using tools like upzoning select parcels in participating partner municipalities, in combination with the government’s favourable lending rates, and matched with expedited approvals.
- Affordability must be built-in long-term for all projects, including when homes are sold.
- Using the Cullen Commission recommendation to create a new enforcement tool will allow investigations into suspicious real estate transactions.
- Purchasers suspected of organized crime will be forced to explain how they got the money to buy properties, and properties that are purchased with the proceeds of crime will be seized to fund public programs.