By Cheryl Jahn

New housing rules passed

Nov 25, 2022 | 1:17 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – As its final bit of business before the Legislature adjourned for the winter break, the government passed the Housing Supply Act. It is designed to kickstart new housing construction by giving the provincial government the ability to set municipal housing targets. It gives the Minister of Housing the authority to ensure compliance to make sure housing gets built, should municipalities with the highest need struggle to deliver enough housing.

“Keep in mind, all these municipalities already have targets,” says Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon. “The issue isn’t targets. The issue is they’re not meeting existing targets and, therefore, we’re not getting the supply of housing that we need. Which means we should be talking, not more bureaucracy and targets, but actually working with the local governments to say ‘How can we make sure that the approval process is streamlined?’ So that we get supply into the market.”

The City of Prince George recently did a housing study. Some of the highlights include the average rental unit prices increased by 66% between 2005-2020, the average home sale prices increased by 140% between 2016-2020, and there are 9,440 renter households.

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But the Union of BC Municipalities has a lot of questions around the legislation.

“And I think that there are a number of pieces that are unanswered about what this what this looks like for communities,” explains Jen Ford, President of the Union of BC Municipalities.

“There’s mention of targets will be set to achieve a certain number of units. When does that target achieve what they’re looking for? Is it when the permit is issued or is it when the door opens? Lots of lots of ambiguity.”

Jen Ford says municipalities have always had a role to play in ensuring there is adequate housing in their communities, but not funding housing.

“However, there’s a number other of other financial requirements of local governments to either provide land or servicing or infrastructure. And then all of the planning and development, you know, is really an opportunity for local governments to participate in and to hear the needs of their communities and deliver housing that suits what people are looking for.”

Following through on the concerns expressed by municipalities, the legislation requires communities to report on their status and special advisors will be appointed.

“Who is that special adviser? And, you know, the legislation indicates a range of powers that that person would have should that community not be meeting their targets. And that’s that’s cause for concern, for sure, for some communities that feel their local autonomy is being challenged. However, this is a work in progress.”

The government also passed the Building Strata Statutes Amendment Act prevents stratas from banning rentals in their buildings and ends age restrictions.