Rental housing, including non‐profit housing, is a critical part of the British Columbia housing system. Non‐profit housing societies are providers of affordable rental housing for those with low incomes. Along with ownership housing, rental housing plays an important role in the housing continuum serving families and individuals at different life stages and indeed most of us have lived in rental housing at some point in our lives. However, little new purpose built rental housing has been built in BC since the 1960s and 70s when tax measures facilitated new purpose built rental housing. That stock of rental housing is being eroded over time through redevelopment and some of it is deteriorating due to insufficient maintenance and repairs. That leaves a gap in the provision of rental housing affordable for those with modest incomes.

Rental housing appears to be on the minds of decision‐makers at the provincial and municipal level. BCNPHA wishes to alert members of this, and point out that we may see a new emphasis on rental housing supply from senior levels of government going forward. BCNPHA encourages the non‐profit sector to take a leadership role in this area, as new innovations emerge. For example, the city of Vancouver has initiated the Short Term Incentives for Rental (STIR) program which offers a range of incentives to developers of new rental housing. A Rental Housing Supply Coalition consisting of a broad range of private and non‐profit sector housing and development organizations has formed in Metro Vancouver to advocate for federal and provincial taxation and other measures to enhance the supply of rental housing. BCNPHA is participating in that coalition, and you can view the Rental Housing Supply Coalition Platform by clicking
here. In addition, BC Housing currently offers financing that could be used for rental projects, and it may be considering some form of rental housing supply program in the future.

In the current funding environment, and as operating agreements expire, non‐profit housing societies must look outside of the traditional means of developing and sustaining affordable rental housing. BCNPHA urges you to consider rental housing opportunities that may emerge in your community. Is there an existing rental building available for sale? Could you partner with local government, the private sector, and others to build new rental housing? Could market rental housing enable you to develop subsidies for some of your lower income tenants? Several non‐profits have pursued these strategies successfully and BCNPHA is committed to sharing examples with you in the coming months. Please share any successes that you know of us with us, in order that we can share them.

Back