$1.6 billion allocated for housing plan
Government focuses on affordable homes for students, people in precarious situations
A major bump in funding for affordable housing in B.C. and a vow to improve protections for tenants were included in the NDP government’s 2018 budget, unveiled Tuesday, but its promised $400 rebate for renters was nowhere to be found.
The $1.6 billion in new spending on homes came alongside a raft of measures to stabilize the real estate market, crack down on fraud and close loopholes, and was part of a broader 10-year, 30-point plan that called for 114,000 affordable homes.
Housing affordability advocates largely applauded the measures.
Carole James, the deputy premier and finance minister, said in her budget speech the problem of housing affordability had been ignored too long and the consequences were being felt throughout B.C.
“People have clearly been hurt by the housing crisis. B.C. businesses and our economy are feeling the effects as well,” James said, adding there is a “drastic shortage” of affordable homes in the province.
Included in the budget was about $565 million for new units of student housing and homes for those facing homelessness and for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. The spending on housing for women and children was touted by the government as the first significant investment of its kind in two decades.
The student beds would be delivered through a program that would allow post-secondary institutions to borrow from the province to help finance on-campus housing. The idea is to help students find housing close to schools and to free up rental units in surrounding communities, James said.
Caitlin McCutchen, head of the Alliance of B.C. Students, said her group was pleased with the announcement, calling it “a great innovative way to create more housing for students while also freeing up market rental spaces for those who need them.” McCutchen said her group had long called for such a measure.
In place of the promised $400 renters rebate was an idea to review the Home Owner Grant “to improve fairness and support for renters.” The grant has provided financial relief to B.C. homeowners come tax season even as those same owners watched the value of their homes soar. Tenants saw no comparable relief as their rents swelled in kind.
Asked by a reporter whether the $400 rebate would be coming, James said the government continued to explore it among other ideas, adding “we’re not going to do everything overnight.”
Thom Armstrong, executive director of the Co-op Housing Federation of B.C., shrugged off the absence of the rebate, adding he was never much of a fan of the idea as it stood, and said he saw the broader plan as part of a sustained commitment to affordability.
“We couldn’t be happier. This is the budget we were hoping for,” he said.
Included in the 30-point housing plan was a commitment to change laws that apply in cases of renovictions and demovictions “to ensure that renters left without housing have adequate support.” The government also plans to provide “a stronger response” to cases where landlords misuse provisions that allow them to repair or upgrade existing rental units.
Andrew Sakamoto, executive director of the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre, said he had an overall positive take on the budget, but said he wants to see swift action with respect to amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act to protect renters.
Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program, said the budget seemed to focus on delivering housing for populations that “could never be addressed by the marketplace,” including people experiencing homelessness or living in otherwise precarious situations.
“You really have to look at this as investment that has been long-missing,” he said.
The budget called for a new office at B.C. Housing tasked with bringing together governments, builders, faith groups, non-profits and private sector partners to find and redevelop available land and buildings.
Meanwhile, a change to the municipal and regional district tax (commonly known as the hotel tax) would expand its allowable use to include measures to fund housing initiatives.