Eby Promises New Housing Plan Will Help Middle Class

B.C. Premier David Eby announced details Tuesday of the long-promised BC Builds program that aims to create middle-income housing on publicly owned land.

“Everybody knows British Columbians are struggling to find affordable housing,” Eby said at an event in North Vancouver. “We know the middle class is struggling in our province.”

The government has so far focused on helping people falling out of the housing market into homelessness, but too many families are paying half of their income or more on housing, he said. That hurts families and the province’s economy as potential workers can’t find affordable places to live.

The provincial government has set aside $2 billion to use as low-cost financing for the program, plus another $950 million for grants and other funding.

The money will be used to build housing for rent or purchase on land that is owned by the province, other levels of government, communities and non-profit organizations.

Rents will vary by community and there will be funding to help non-profits and First Nations provide at least 20 per cent of units at 20 per cent below the market rate.

The program is targeted to households with incomes that are too high to qualify for other provincial housing programs. The aim is to create studio or one-bedroom homes for households with annual incomes from $84,780 and two-bedroom homes or larger for households making $134,410 to $191,910.

“Today is the first day of a brand new program,” Eby said, stressing that it is one piece of a bigger strategy to address the housing crisis.

The premier made the announcement as mayors and councillors began a two-day Union of BC Municipalities summit in Vancouver on housing.

The government has been talking about launching BC Builds for at least a year.

Three projects are already underway through the program: the 180-unit building in North Vancouver where the premier made the announcement, a 199-unit project on reserve land in Duncan that will also house the Cowichan Tribes’ headquarters, and a 33-unit building in Gibsons that will include space for a child-care facility.

Eby said there are 20 more partners working on projects and 4,000 more housing units in the queue. The hope is to accelerate approval times so that projects can go from conception to construction in 12 to 18 months, he said.

As proponents repay loans, the money will be recycled into new projects, said Eby. With funding from the federal government or other levels of government, the program, which is modelled on ones already working in Singapore and Vienna, could be expanded, he added.

North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan was on hand for the announcement. “It should go without saying that this is an incredible day for our community,” she said.

The project underway will provide housing for people like students, teachers, firefighters and accountants that the community needs but who have struggled to find homes they can afford, she said.

Talking about her own four young adult children and their friends, Buchanan said many are losing hope of ever being able to afford a home in their community. “BC Builds is about opening that door for people.”

The province’s press release quoted Jill Atkey, CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, saying “BC Builds is another historic investment into much-needed workforce housing.”

Opposition politicians were skeptical.

“Disappointing announcement from Eby today,” BC United Leader Kevin Falcon wrote on the social media platform X. “Recycling old funding for another Government-knows-best Photo Op won't build new homes.”

BC Green Party Leader and Cowichan Valley MLA Sonia Furstenau said in a statement, “With this housing announcement, the BC NDP have abandoned British Columbians who struggle the most with costs of living.”

Focusing on households earning more than $85,000 a year ignores “the desperate reality the majority of British Columbians are facing,” she said. “Where is the support for the truly middle-income households, who make up over half of B.C.’s population?”

BC Greens would raise the income caps on programs that help lower-income renters, the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters and the Rental Assistance Program, Furstenau said. They would also limit rent increases between tenants, a policy known as vacancy control that the B.C. government has declined to implement.

Eby said BC Builds is one tool of many that the province is applying to the housing crisis.

He warned against politicians and others who argue that governments should get out of the way and trust the free market to provide housing. “We’ve seen that movie already,” he said, referring to the decades when provincial and federal governments withdrew from building housing.

“The results were unfortunately predictable,” Eby said, adding that it led to financial speculation in real estate and rapidly rising rents and housing prices. “We know the private sector alone hasn’t been able to build the housing B.C. needs.”

BC Builds will fill a gap, he said. “It will grow with British Columbians to deliver the housing they need.”