Articles on housing-related advocacy, legislation and policy.
The Province of B.C. has decided that it will not bring into force legislation presently to establish shelter criteria when local governments seek injunctions for decampment.
In their most recent Service Plan, the Ministry of Housing has indicated that cumulative targets for “specified municipalities assigned housing targets” will increase to 68-80 municipalities by 2026/27. When the Housing Supply Act was originally enacted, the Province indicated that it would be applied to set housing targets in municipalities with the greatest need and highest projected growth.
Homelessness is a serious and growing issue in BC, and local governments are seeing firsthand the need for more shelter spaces, affiliated social services, and bolstered first responder capacity. The UBCM Executive is meeting with the Premier, Ministers, and opposition MLAs to discuss these issues, and look for constructive solutions.
New provincial short-term rental (STR) rules including the principal residence requirement come into effect on May 1, 2024. In addition, the Province has created an STR Data Portal to support local governments with monitoring and enforcement.
The new rules coming into effect include:
The proposed 2024 federal budget includes a new housing plan, with several programs that impact local governments. Initiatives include supports for renters, homeowners, developers, and other orders of government. Details are yet to come, but the plan does address some of the core components in UBCM’s Housing Strategy.
The Province has introduced new legislation to address some issues created by pre-zoning large areas of BC communities for increased density. The new legislation addresses: inclusionary zoning; updates to the density bonus framework; providing local government with expanded authority to require site-specific works and services, and transportation demand management measures; and tenant protection bylaws.
In advance of the 2024 Budget, the Federal Government has announced a significant series of housing-related measures including: a $6 billion infrastructure fund comprised of $1 billion for municipalities for urgent infrastructure needs, and $5 billion to Provinces and territories; additional housing-focused requirements to access a forthcoming public transit fund; $15 billion in additional funding for rental construction; a Canada Builds fund modelled on BC Builds; and a $400 million top-up to the Housing Accelerator Fund.
Delegates at UBCM’s Housing Summit last week heard how changes to the framework for housing development and a surging provincial population will require rapid upgrading of community infrastructure throughout the province. How communities will pay for infrastructure renewal, while also taking on an increasing role in financially supporting attainable housing, are key themes in a joint effort by UBCM and the Province to review the local government finance system.
Record-breaking population growth in BC has led to data projections that forecast a significant need for more housing—beyond what is already needed for existing residents.
The need for that data to be accurate is important as each order of government plans for expected growth. If the projections end up being too high, it could result in excess spending. But they are too low—the resulting lack of housing would be profound.