BC Builds Will Deliver Thousands More Homes With Canada Contribution

Another two-billion dollars is coming from the federal government to deal with the housing situation in British Columbia.

That’s on top of the two billion dollar BC Builds program, announced by the BC government last week.

“All levels of government need to work together to solve the housing crisis,” said Premier David Eby.

“With the federal government’s contribution and partnership toward BC Builds, we can help build more homes people can actually afford. That’s good news for our economy and for our future, but most importantly it’s good news for British Columbians looking for a decent place to live.”

BC Builds is intended to lower construction costs, speed up timelines, and deliver more homes geared toward middle-income people.

The program leverages government, community, and non-profit owned and underused land with $2 billion in low-cost financing and a commitment of $950 million for the overall program.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal investment in Vancouver yesterday.

The program is designed to deliver through challenging market conditions to bring down building costs, get more projects started, and build more homes that fit into middle-income budgets.

The program will focus on rental housing first with rents reflecting local conditions and determined on a community-by-community basis.

The province says that means more households will find below-market rent and spend less than 30% of their income on rent.

BC Builds works in partnership with non-profits, local governments, First Nations, and the development sector to identify available underused land, provide financing and funding, and deliver projects that create more homes and help bring costs more in line with what middle-income households earn.

To see the full release, visit Government of British Columbia.