$36 million in new federal housing funding announced for City of Richmond

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The City of Richmond will receive $36 million from the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to help expedite new housing.

In exchange for the funding, the municipal government will streamline its application and review processes, change zoning and policies, and encourage affordable housing/student housing and transit-oriented development, which is expected to fast-track over 3,100 new homes within Richmond over the next 10 years, including over 1,000 homes within the next three years.

“By building more affordable homes more quickly, our government is unlocking new opportunities for growth in Richmond. Working together, we can equip our communities with new tools to support them to reach their potential and turn possibilities into realities,” said Wilson Miao, MP for Richmond Centre, in a statement on Monday.

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Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie added, “The funding will help the City implement eight specific initiatives to fast-track the creation of new housing units which will span the range of affordable home ownership – from market rentals to non-market and low-end market rentals to those needing supportive housing.”

Today, the federal government also announced $7 million from the HAF to the District of Squamish, which will help fast-track over 1,300 homes over the next decade, including about 200 homes in the next three years.

Richmond’s allocation from the HAF is comparable to the $43 million received by Burnaby and $42.4 million for Kitchener, Ontario.

Earlier in January, $96 million was provided to the City of Surrey through the HAF.

Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $115 million from the HAF to the City of Vancouver, which will help expedite over 3,200 new homes over the next three years, and catalyze over 40,000 new homes over the next decade.

The combined HAF allocation to Metro Vancouver municipalities to date now stands at $289 million.

All of this follows the first BC announcement in late October 2023, when the City of Kelowna received $31.5 million.

To be considered to receive a portion of the $4 billion Housing Accelerator Fund, municipal governments need to apply and pledge that they will grow the housing supply faster than their historical average, increase densification, encourage transit-oriented development, speed up approval times, and reduce red tape.

Other HAF recipients so far include Kelowna with $31.5 million, Calgary with $228 million, $471 million to Toronto, Mississauga with $113 million, Brampton with $114 million, London with $74 million, $59 million to Vaughan, $93.5 million to Hamilton, $79 million to Halifax, $15.5 million to Moncton, and $900 million to the Government of Quebec.

Last week, the Government of British Columbia announced it will provide $51 million to 188 local governments and jurisdictions across the province to help cover their costs by following new provincial legislation related to generating more housing. Both the municipal governments of Vancouver and Surrey received over $3 million.

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