Six months in, Vancouver lags behind housing target ordered by province

More than six months after the B.C. NDP government announced ambitious targets to push municipalities to approve new housing over the next five years, Vancouver is coming up short.

The city was one of 10 communities tapped to meet housing targets set by the province and it's required to report its progress every six months for the first year, and then annually.

In its first status update to city council, Vancouver reported that 1,607 new housing units have been built in six months, less than half of the 2,601 units mandated by the province for the first six months (5,202 new units are required in the first year).

“Although it is common for completions to be lower in the first part of the year, we note a decline in completions over the last two years,” Dan Garrison, the city's assistant director of housing policy, wrote in the report.

But there are still signs of hope, Garrison wrote.

Despite the lagging rate of new builds, there are 31,300 housing units in the works for Vancouver, including 8,000 under construction and 14,600 that have been approved.

If the anticipated units are built before Sept. 30, 2028, Vancouver will exceed its provincial target of 28,900 new housing units. The province wants at least 60 per cent of all the new housing to be studio or one-bedroom rentals priced at market rate.

But external factors “beyond the city's control” could continue to compromise its progress, according to Garrison's report.

This includes developers putting projects on hold to wait for more favourable market conditions, and limited availability of labour and materials.

Vancouver isn't the only municipality falling behind on targets.

Only one of the 10 communities first included in the provincial order, Victoria, has reported being on track or exceeding housing targets in six months. The city said it completed 753 net new units, exceeding its 659unit target for the first year.

Remaining communities, including Delta, Saanich and Oak Bay, have reported coming up short.

If municipalities don't meet the targets within six months, the province can appoint an independent adviser to help them make progress. If that doesn't help, B.C. will use its power to overrule the municipality and rezone entire neighbourhoods to create more density..