Articles on housing-related advocacy, legislation and policy.
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.
Three local government lawyers took a deep dive into Bills 44, 46 and 47 in the Recent Housing Legislation to provide greater clarity and answer questions around new local government obligations with respect to small scale multi-unit housing, new amenity contribution agreements (ACCs) and transit-oriented development.
A panel of planners and a representative from the Ministry of Housing gathered at the Housing Summit 2024 to discuss development finance changes stemming from legislation passed in the fall. Bill 46 specifically changes the framework for development and amenity charges, but is in context of several other housing-related bills that shift the way local governments plan for housing.