BC NDP's housing platform includes covering 60% of home price for first-time homebuyers
With the provincial general election now nearly two weeks away, the BC NDP has released their full campaign platform in a document of over 60 pages, which includes a substantial section of promises related to improving housing affordability and supply conditions.
When it comes to new interventionist policies, David Eby’s party would further increase the provincial government’s housing speculation tax and “clamp down on home flipping.” They charge that the Conservative Party of BC would reverse such measures that encourage the use of housing transactions for profits.
The BC NDP would also eliminate blind bidding as another measure to reduce housing prices so that homebuyers do not overpay for the home they want.
While there are some new interventionist policies, catalyzing new housing supply is the overwhelming BC NDP strategy for improving housing conditions.
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This includes significantly expanding a new program where first-time homebuyers pay 60% of their unit’s price initially, with the remaining 40% due when they sell or after 25 years, and their equity in the home has increased.
Such a program would be expanded to 25,000 new homes, with the provincial government first announcing last month that such a program would be rolled out for MST Development Corporation’s Heather Lands project in Vancouver, where about 2,600 units will be available for purchase.
Other supply-related policies include subsidized home insurance covering unpaid rent and property damages to encourage individual homeowners to rent out their suites or homes, waiving provincial property taxes for new secured purpose-built rental housing projects, and encouraging municipal governments to build more housing through a new local infrastructure investment fund tied to housing starts. The BC NDP would also continue to encourage vertical density, including for transit-oriented development and affordable hosing projects.
The newly recreated Rental Protection Fund would also see its provincial funding replenished to enable the non-profit entity to buy more aging rental housing buildings to protect such properties from speculation and retain existing affordable rental rates.
In contrast, John Rustad’s BC Conservatives have promised a new BC Rent and Mortgage Rebate as a central feature of their housing platform. This rebate of $3,000 per month of rent or mortgage interest costs will be exempt from provincial income taxes.
The BC Conservatives are also proposing various new policies that speed up and catalyze new housing, but they also have plans to eliminate the BC NDP-enacted Bill 44 of enabling small-scale, multi-family housing on single-family lots across the province, and amending Bill 47 of transit-oriented areas by ensuring each such area also features neighbourhood-serving businesses.
The provincial general election is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2024.
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- BC NDP promises to connect two major shopping malls through Bus Rapid Transit route
- BC NDP promises $1,000 in household rebates as soon as 2025
- BC Conservatives promise to end ICBC monopoly, age-based rates
- BC Conservatives vow major new transportation infrastructure, including SkyTrain extension to Newton