BC government announces legislated housing supply targets for 10 cities

Construction of the MC2 residential towers near SkyTrain Marine Drive Station in South Vancouver. The complex reached completion in 2016. (Shutterstock)

The Government of British Columbia has announced its long-awaited final housing target orders for the first 10 municipal governments under the legislated Housing Supply Act.

These figures are new additional homes that municipal governments must catalyze over the next five years between October 2023 and September 2028, not merely approve.

It should also be emphasized that these are targets for both reaching completion and occupancy-ready units, not merely approvals during the municipal stage of reviewing applications.

Each of the first 10 municipal governments was given the opportunity to weigh in on the provincial government’s targets throughout the summer after the provincial government announced in late spring they would be part of the first batch of jurisdictions under the Housing Supply Act.

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The City of Vancouver’s target alone accounts for nearly half of the combined total of 60,123 units all 10 cities are required to achieve. BC’s largest municipality has been ordered to catalyze 28,900 homes.

For a breakdown of the City of Vancouver’s target and the reaction from its municipal leaders, click here.

In addition to quantity prescriptions, there are also quality stipulations to ensure the housing being achieved meets the perceived need in communities, including mandated units by size for the varying needs of small and larger households, units by ownership or rental tenure, and rental units with market and below-market rents.

Moreover, there are interim annual targets over the five-year period, with the number of homes per year rising significantly year-over-year, suggesting the provincial government expects municipal governments to work out their kinks quickly and create policies and strategies in an expeditious manner that catalyze the new housing, such as updating their community plans.

Here is a full breakdown of what all 10 cities need to catalyze to completion over the next five years:

ABBOTSFORD
- Total units: 7,240
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 3,991
  - Two-bedroom: 1,213
  - Three-bedroom: 2,034
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 3,753
  - Owned: 3,487
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 2,331
  - Market: 1,421
  - Supportive housing units: 198
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 1,022
  - Year 2: 2,186
  - Year 3: 3,563
  - Year 4: 5,224
  - Year 5: 7,240
DELTA
- Total units: 3,607
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 2,021
  - Two-bedroom: 682
  - Three-bedroom: 904
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 2,030
  - Owned: 1,577
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 830
  - Market: 1,199
  - Supportive housing units: 95
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 1,514
  - Year 2: 1,098
  - Year 3: 1,785
  - Year 4: 2,609
  - Year 5: 3,607
DISTRICT OF NORTH VANCOUVER
- Total units: 2,838
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 1,605
  - Two-bedroom: 534
  - Three-bedroom: 698
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 1,541
  - Owned: 1,297
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 657
  - Market: 884
  - Supportive housing units: 78
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 499
  - Year 2: 1,021
  - Year 3: 1,577
  - Year 4: 2,179
  - Year 5: 2,838
KAMLOOPS
- Total units: 4,236
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 2,642
  - Two-bedroom: 739
  - Three-bedroom: 854
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 2,227
  - Owned: 2,009
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 1,320
  - Market: 907
  - Supportive housing units: 115
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 679
  - Year 2: 1,414
  - Year 3: 2,233
  - Year 4: 3,164
  - Year 5: 4,236
OAK BAY
- Total units: 664
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 446
  - Two-bedroom: 100
  - Three-bedroom: 118
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 246
  - Owned: 418
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 141
  - Market: 104
  - Supportive housing units: 20
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 56
  - Year 2: 138
  - Year 3: 258
  - Year 4: 429
  - Year 5: 664
PORT MOODY
- Total units: 1,694
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 903
  - Two-bedroom: 328
  - Three-bedroom: 462
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 704
  - Owned: 989
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 238
  - Market: 466
  - Supportive housing units: 30
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 231
  - Year 2: 499
  - Year 3: 820
  - Year 4: 1,212
  - Year 5: 1,694
SAANICH
- Total units: 4,610
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 3,001
  - Two-bedroom: 780
  - Three-bedroom: 828
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 2,495
  - Owned: 2,115
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 1,161
  - Market: 1,134
  - Supportive housing units: 131
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 440
  - Year 2: 1,041
  - Year 3: 1,882
  - Year 4: 3,045
  - Year 5: 4,610
VANCOUVER
- Total units: 28,900
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 17,459
  - Two-bedroom: 5,231
  - Three-bedroom: 6,209
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 20,886
  - Owned: 8,015
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 7,894
  - Market: 12,992
  - Supportive housing units: 583
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 5,202
  - Year 2: 10,597
  - Year 3: 16,281
  - Year 4: 22,349
  - Year 5: 28,900
VICTORIA
- Total units: 4,902
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 3,365
  - Two-bedroom: 801
  - Three-bedroom: 736
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 3,483
  - Owned: 1,419
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 1,798
  - Market: 1,685
  - Supportive housing units: 102
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 659
  - Year 2: 1,425
  - Year 3: 2,352
  - Year 4: 3,493
  - Year 5: 4,902
WEST VANCOUVER
- Total units: 1,432
- Units by size:
  - Studio/one-bedroom: 854
  - Two-bedroom: 256
  - Three-bedroom: 321
- Units by tenure:
  - Rental: 985
  - Owned: 446
- Rental units by market rate:
  - Below-market: 435
  - Market: 551
  - Supportive housing units: 39
- Five-year annual totals:
  - Year 1: 220
  - Year 2: 462
  - Year 3: 738
  - Year 4: 1,057
  - Year 5: 1,432

“These housing targets put forward by the province marked a 30% increase in overall housing to be built in these communities compared to what’s been previously planned. These targets were developed at population growth and housing data. Data, not politics,” said Ravi Kahlon, the BC Minister of Housing, during today’s press conference.

“We are confident that by working together with 10 municipalities, we will not only hit our housing targets, but we will exceed them. Make no mistake, this will not be easy. Affordable housing is one of the biggest challenges that our province is facing. As we work together to find solutions. I want all of you to know that we are here to listen and to support our local government partners.”

Drawing from data from Statistics Canada, BC Stats, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Integrated Data Project for Preventing and Reducing Homelessness, the provincial government’s housing targets for each municipality are based on a formula.

The formula takes into account the municipal government’s recent Housing Needs Report to factor in the “extreme core housing need,” the proportional level of homelessness in a community compared with the regional population, the formation rate for households in the community, the rate of growth in the number of households, and the estimated number of rental units needed to bring the rental vacancy rate to a healthy rate of 3%.

The targets established by the provincial government represent a 38% increase in overall housing to be built in these cities over what was projected to have been created based on historic trends. Moreover, the targets are based on 75% of that municipality’s identified housing needs.

The provincial government will monitor municipalities’ progress to meet their targets and create policies that enable them to succeed. They will be evaluated after the first six months and then annually thereafter.

Kahlon says the legislation provides the provincial government with the powers to address non-compliant jurisdictions, whether there are real challenges to overcome or a city that does not want to comply with the provincial direction. But he adds that the first 10 cities have so far been “so positive.”

The first list of 10 cities that include Vancouver is just the first wave of cities being rolled into the Housing Supply Act.

Kahlon noted that he expects the next 10 cities to be announced before the end of 2023, and he intends to add 10 cities six months after that.

A total of 47 municipal jurisdictions across BC are targeted by the provincial government for inclusion in the Housing Supply Act.

“We wanted to make sure we did it in smaller numbers because it was important to have that conversation with the communities to really engage on what the target should be,” the Minister continued.

“But also because if we need to step in, and communities don’t want to be part of the housing solution, a smaller number makes it easier for us to be able to handle the capacity of doing that.”

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