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By Minister for Housing Ravi Kahlon

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Homes for people

Apr 12, 2023 | 1:43 PM

BRITISH COLUMBIANS HAVE MADE IT CLEAR that housing is a top priority. We live in a beautiful and vibrant province, so it’s no wonder why people would want to live here. In fact, over 250,000 people have relocated to the province in the last two years. Being one of the most desirable places to live in the world comes with challenges that were exacerbated by a global pandemic, and currently, finding an affordable home can be difficult for people living here in B.C.

That’s why we’ve introduced our Homes for People plan, to get more people into affordable homes, faster. As Minister of Housing, I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to deliver homes for people in the past five years, but there is much more work to do to combat the housing crisis and make sure every person and family in B.C. has a place to call home that they can afford.

Everyday British Columbians — not speculators and the ultra-wealthy — need support in today’s housing market, and our Homes for People plan does just that by unlocking more homes faster, providing support to the people who need it most and creating conditions for a housing market that puts people first, not profits.

This plan delivers more homes. We’ll be building more middle-income small scale, multi-unit housing that people can afford, like townhouses, duplexes and triplexes by working with partners and implementing zoning changes.

We know how important rental supply is and we’ll be building thousands more affordable homes specifically for renters, which will include homes for women and children leaving violence, Indigenous people, and more on-campus student housing. We are also making it easier for homeowners to build and rent out secondary suites by offering forgivable loans of up to $40,000. This, along with strengthening enforcement on short-term rentals, will result in more long-term rentals for people in British Columbia.

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People are struggling with rising costs right now thanks to global inflation, which is why we’ve introduced a $400 income-tested tax credit for renters in 2023 for the people who need it most.

Every person in British Columbia deserves a safe and secure home, and we’ll be providing more homes and support for people in our communities who are experiencing homelessness.

Our government will also be introducing a house-flipping tax. Right now, we need homes for ordinary British Columbians, not investment properties for short-term speculation.

Other recent actions our government has taken is creating a $500-million Rental Protection Fund to help save buildings that are at risk of development and keep people in their rental homes by helping non-profit organizations purchase them. We also made changes that will free up empty condos for renters, and we introduced a homebuyers protection period so that people aren’t forced to lose money on unconditional offers.

The Homes for People housing strategy comes in addition to the work our government has already done to get more people into homes and build on what was already the largest investment in affordable housing in British Columbia’s history.

Homes are meant to be lived in. Together, working with people across the province from local governments, First Nations, non-profit organizations and other partners, we are going to work hard to build more homes, faster, for all British Columbians.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.