On October 13, the Urban Development Institute (UDI), BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA), Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA), and Co-operative Housing Federation of BC (CHFBC) — the latter three of which are together known as Housing Central — published a joint news release “calling on every party in the provincial election to commit to bringing down the cost of building homes” as Election Day nears.
UDI is the group that lobbies on behalf of private developers while the Housing Central partners represent the non-profits, Indigenous housing providers, and co-ops in the community housing sector.
Because of their different focuses, the two groups are often on opposite sides of housing debates, hence why they described themselves as “unlikely allies.” They say they are coming together now because they have all reached the same conclusion: “neither sector can build at today’s costs and within an uncertain regulatory and funding environment.”
“The cost of building and financing a home in BC now exceeds what most buyers can afford to pay and what governments are willing to subsidize for low- and moderate-income renters,” the alliance said in their news release. “For market and non-market builders alike, this means projects that don't pencil and never get off the drawing board.”
With Budget 2026 earlier this year, the Province said they were adjusting the pacing of $1.4 billion in planned housing investments, which notably included an abrupt pause pertaining to the Community Housing Fund, which has stranded numerous non-profit housing projects and become a sore spot for the sector.
The groups say over 5,000 affordable rental units have been impacted, and project proponents have lost $45 million in pre-development costs.
After the Governments of Canada and Ontario announced an $8.8 billion deal this spring to cut development charges and eliminate the 13% HST on housing, the development industry in BC started pushing for a similar deal.
While the Governments of Canada and British Columbia finally made an announcement in June, it included a similar deal to cut development charges, but there was nothing on eliminating the GST, with the Province saying they were uninterested in it despite recognizing that the industry had been pushing for it.
In their joint news release, UDI and the Housing Central partners noted that the agreement to reduce development charges was not finalized before Premier David Eby called a snap election on September 22, and thus builders still cannot price it into their projects.
The alliance called for four actions to address the above points:
- Restoring the planned investments into non-profit, co-op and Indigenous housing so that the development of 5,000 affordable homes can get back on track.
- Finalize a commitment to co-invest remaining BC Rental Protection Funds with the Canada Rental Protection Fund to continue protecting the affordability that already exists in the market and provide housing stability for thousands of tenants across BC.
- Finalizing the federal-provincial agreement on development cost charges and infrastructure within [90] days of forming government, so DCC reductions reach projects on the ground.
- Following Ontario’s lead by securing a GST exemption on new homes for all buyers, not only first-time buyers.
“The projects are ready, but the land sits empty,” said BCNPHA CEO Jill Atkey. “The people waiting for affordable housing cannot wait another budget cycle. The next government has an opportunity to restore the investment and get these homes built.”
“When market developers and non-profit housing providers are asking for the same thing, it should tell every party how serious the cost of delivery crisis is,” added UDI CEO Mike Drummond.
Housing has not been as front-and-centre compared to the election in 2024, with this election’s primary focuses being Eby’s record and decision to call the election, the economy, and BC’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
The most substantial commitment on the housing front has been Eby and the NDP’s proposed Unsold Condo Tax on completed unsold inventory, which has drawn widespread criticism from the industry.
Election Day is Saturday, October 24.
