B.C.’S HOUSING PLAN AIMS TO INCREASE ‘MISSING-MIDDLE’ HOUSING, LEGALIZE ALL SECONDARY SUITES

“Single-family detached homes are out of reach for many middle-class people. And one- or two-bedroom condos often don’t meet the needs of growing families. Family friendly neighbourhoods need more small-scale, multi-unit homes.”

The debate over missing-middle housing has been divisive in many communities, with proponents calling for creative solutions that will make owning a home more attainable. Opponents question whether missing-middle housing will actually bring prices down.

In Wilson Commons, the townhome development that served as the backdrop to Eby’s announcement, a three-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse is listed for $999,000 in a city where the average price of the single-family home is just under $1 million.

“The market has created these conditions, and now you’re just going to put a bunch more public money into it and say, ‘The thing that broke it is the thing that’s going to fix it.’ There’s a very serious breakdown and cognitive dissonance,” Olsen said.

The City of Victoria in January passed its missing-middle housing policy, which will allow up to six units to be built on a single-family lot. Vancouver council is considering whether to legalize buildings with up to six units on a single-family lot on low-density residential side streets.

It makes no sense, Eby said, that a homeowner can easily tear down their home to build a bigger one without a complex rezoning process, but the process to build a multi-unit home for several families takes up to two years to green light.

The move to create more missing-middle housing was applauded by Bridget Ryan, a Victoria renter and post-doctoral student at the University of Victoria who said she “feels trapped by this market.”

The 36-year-old said she and her husband have put off having kids until they find stable, long-term housing.

Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch said he is concerned that “at first blush (the policy) seems to gut all of the land-use planning that (municipalities) have.”
“What’s not clear to me at this point is where we need to have some control and where we want to shape the communities that we want to live in, if the municipalities will have any control over those aspects.”

B.C. Liberal housing critic Karin Kirkpatrick worries the upzoning policy could actually increase speculation as single-family lots could rise in value based on their development potential.

“Will speculators and investors suddenly rush in to purchase real estate at sizable markups in anticipation of the idea that they can build more?” he asked.

Yan applauded the overall plan, saying it “really touched upon not only just one aspect of housing policy, but several with supply, demand and finance.”

The Union of B.C. Municipalities will be talking to local mayors and councillors for feedback on the province-wide rezoning for single-family lots, said UBCM president Jen Ford.

“Whenever (provincial) jurisdiction crosses into zoning and land use, we certainly want to hear from our members, and our members want to be engaged by the province before that regulation comes into effect,” Ford said.

Starting next year, the province will offer loans up to a maximum of $40,000 for homeowners to build and rent secondary suites. The loans will be forgiven as long as the homeowner rents the unit at below-market rates for at least five years.

That underscores the inequity between government-funded help for homeowners versus renters, Kirkpatrick said, noting that renters are only eligible for the $400-a-year income-tested tax credit, which works out to just $33 a month.

British Columbians who buy a home just to flip it for a profit will also be hit with a flipping tax that will be introduced later this year.

There were few details about the tax rate, but Eby’s housing platform, released before he became premier, said the tax would apply to those who hold a residential property for two years or less. The quicker someone buys and sells a home, the higher the tax would be.

The government will also work with municipalities to strengthen enforcement of short-term rentals such as Airbnbs to ensure people aren’t operating them under the radar without paying the required taxes.

Eby promised to build 6,000 more affordable homes through the Community Housing Fund. Some B.C. mayors have complained that shovel-ready affordable housing projects are languishing because of a lack of funding from B.C. Housing.

In December, Eby admitted there’s a backlog in government funding for affordable housing, with B.C. Housing only approving one out of five applications for new affordable housing from non-profit organizations.

Eby also said the plan will provide more housing for people living on the street, including 3,900 more supportive housing units and 240 more purpose-built complex care housing units for people with severe mental-health and addictions issues. The government pledged to build another 1,750 homes to be built for Indigenous people living on and off reserve, and another 4,000 on-campus homes for students.

The plan references Eby’s January announcement that the province will create a streamlined provincial housing permit system that will bring approval times to months instead of the current wait time of two years.