Housing coalition outlines four demands ahead of B.C. election
Developers and affordable housing providers urge parties to restore planned investments and reduce development costs
Daisy Xiong, Oct 14, 2026
Market-rate developers and non-profit housing providers are joining forces to urge B.C.’s political parties to reduce the cost of building homes, warning that rising expenses and policy uncertainty are leaving projects stalled.
The Urban Development Institute (UDI), B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA), Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) and Co-operative Housing Federation of B.C. (CHF BC) on Tuesday called on all parties to commit to four measures aimed at making housing development more financially viable.
The groups said the cost of building and financing homes in B.C. has exceeded what many buyers can afford and what governments are willing to subsidize for low- and moderate-income renters, resulting in projects failing to get off the drawing board.
“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,” said Mike Drummond, CEO of UDI, in a statement.
The groups are asking the next provincial government to restore planned investments in non-profit, co-operative and Indigenous housing, allowing more than 5,000 affordable rental homes that were deferred following $1.4 billion in recent budget cuts to proceed.
“The projects are ready, but the land sits empty,” said Jill Atkey, CEO of the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association.
“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.”
The coalition also called on the government 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.”
In addition, the groups urged the next government to finalize a federal-provincial agreement to reduce development cost charges and fund infrastructure needed to support new housing within 90 days of forming government.
The federal and provincial governments announced a 10-year partnership in June under which they would each contribute nearly $1.6 billion to reduce development charges for multi-unit housing by up to 50 per cent in priority communities and fund infrastructure.
“The details were not finalized before the election was called, so builders cannot price it into projects and municipalities cannot act on it,” said the coalition in a statement Tuesday.
Lastly, the groups called for a federal GST exemption on new homes for all eligible buyers rather than limiting relief to first-time purchasers. They pointed to Ontario’s expanded HST rebate program, announced in March, which temporarily eliminated the 13 per cent HST on eligible buyers of new homes valued at $1 million or less.
“The commitments made in 2024 need to translate into homes on the ground,” said Margaret Pfoh, CEO of the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, in a statement.
