Whereas BC Housings Community Housing Fund CHF provides critical funding to support the development of affordable housing projects across British Columbia, enabling local governments, non-profits, and housing providers to address the urgent need for affordable housing; And whereas the significant upfront costs required to submit an application to BC Housing, such as feasibility studies, architectural designs, and other pre-development expenses create financial barriers for small local governments and non-profit organizations, limiting their ability to deliver housing: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM advocate to BC Housing and the provincial government for changes to the Community Housing Fund application process to reduce or subsidize upfront pre-development costs, ensuring equitable access for all local governments and non-profits across the province.
Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs Ensuring people can live in homes they can afford continues to be a top priority for our government. The Province is making historic investments in housing through programs like the Building BC: Community Housing Fund CHF to support affordable housing development and create thousands of new subsidized homes that growing families, individuals, seniors, people living with disabilities, and Indigenous people can afford. The Ministry and BC Housing will review requirements for future requests for proposals to ensure only the most essential documentation is required. BC Housing has supported operators with these costs through its Project Development Fund PDF. This funding is intended to provide financial support to advance projects and help partners develop comprehensive and competitive proposals for new affordable housing projects. Those eligible for a PDF loan can access up to a maximum of 250,000 in project support. A PDF loan is intended to help partners develop comprehensive proposals including the necessary due diligence, feasibility analyses and design specifications for new affordable housing projects.