Affordability & Tenure

Opening Doors is the final report from the B.C. – Canada Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability. The group was established in 2019 to identify actionable recommendations to increase housing supply and improve affordability in B.C.

Key insights:

The report features 23 policy recommendations that can be categorised under 5 broad calls to action, including:

• Creating a planning framework that proactively encourages housing
• Reforming fees on property development
• Expanding the supply of community and affordable housing
• Improving coordination among and within all orders of government
• Ensuring more equitable treatment of renters and homeowners.

More granular policy recommendations are detailed in the report also, including:

• Streamlining approvals processes
• Increasing transparency on development charges
• Extending tax advantages to renter households
• Phasing out some subsidies offered to homeowners

This discussion guide provides an overview of housing affordability in Metro Vancouver, looking at trends in persons experiencing homelessness, available housing supply, rental housing supply, the purchase price of homes, and the percentage of homes with a core housing need.

Key insights:

Compiled by Simon Fraser University, this paper explores:

• The roles of different levels of government to produce and maintain affordable housing
• Alternative ownership and tenure models (include housing/equity co-operatives and collaborative housing)
• Affordable housing finance tools (including equity loans, community land trusts, and group mortgages)
• Cost saving models to reduce construction costs (including using modular pre-fab housing and micro units) along with each models’ advantages and challenges.

The BC Government’s dedicated web page aimed at providing information to prospective homeowners interested in building and managing a secondary suite or ADU property.

Key insights:

• This page has information for homeowners interested in building and managing a secondary suite or ADU, including a guide and information about the new BC Housing secondary suite incentive program (accepting applications April 2024).

• It provides FAQs & responses on secondary suite and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) are
• Articulates some of their benefits to homeowners (e.g., to provide multi-generational living opportunities and provide additional household income).

Further to this, the page links to Home Suite Home, a guide created by the province which details:

• Local zoning and building code requirements
• Guides homeowners through how to obtain a building permit, notes the rights and responsibilities of becoming a landlord, and provides information on where to find and hire professionals to develop a secondary suite.

Additionally, information is provided on the new Secondary Suite Incentive Program, which will give conditional financing to eligible homeowners to construct affordable attached or detached rental units.

This Terner Center Brief reflects on municipal planner’s experience with the new suite of laws that have been enacted since 2016 to spur housing development in California.

Key insights:

The brief provides an overview of new planning, zoning and permitting legislation in the State of California since 2017, including:

• The introduction of higher municipal housing targets
• Requirements to rezone exclusionary neighbourhoods
• Infill supportive legislation including density bonuses and policies enabling ADU development.

This insightful brief from the Terner Center for Housing Innovation was crafted by Bill Fulton, Terner Fellow; David Garcia, Policy Director; Ben Metcalf, Managing Director; Carolina Reid, Faculty Research Advisor; and Truman Braslaw, Graduate Student Researcher.

This paper recounts early-stage research conducted by the City of Vancouver on a variety of small-scale housing types.

Key insights:

The report outlines how a variety housing types, be they sixplexes, cottages, rowhouses, small lot infill or others, can work to advance the goals of creating ground-oriented, affordable, neighbourhood scale development.

An information sheet is provided for each housing form with a mock-up to display how new development can take shape on single or two-three lot consolidations in existing residential neighbourhoods.

Other areas explored include:

• Technical feasibility
• Marketability
• Ownership options

Report prepared by Patricia St.Michel – City Plans, Planning Department, Community Services Group, City of Vancouver

This report from BC Housing explores the tiny home typology and explores ways to regulate and legalize this built form within the context of BC.

The report provides sample cost estimates for building tiny homes, highlights opportunities (including build time and environmental impacts) and challenges (including building code and standard compliance) and discusses potential home warranty solutions.

The bulk of the resource features BC and North American case studies that delve into project details such as construction timelines, project financing, and lessons learned.

This report was compiled and crafted by the research and writing team of Anastasia Koutalianos, Writer and Co-founder BC Tiny House Collective; Christina Radvak, Project Manager at Light House; Joanne Sawatzky, Director of Green Building Services at Light House; and Sarah Jones, Project Coordinator at Light House.