The B.C. government is making good on its promise to invest in housing with the creation of the Building B.C. Community Housing Fund.
The investment will see $1.9 billion spent over 10 years to build 14,000 new affordable rental housing units through partnerships with non-profit housing providers, co-ops and municipalities across B.C.
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Mayor Lisa Helps said she looks forward to working with the province on developing new, affordable housing in Victoria. “Providing new affordable rentals for low- to moderate-income families and individuals keeps them living and working in our city,” she said.
.@BC_Housing is accepting RFPs for the Building BC Community Housing Fund to identify prospective partners from the community housing sector. https://t.co/2wbZ7VMxxH #bcpoli #affordablehousing pic.twitter.com/mDaZ9U7GIL
— BCNPHA (@BCNPHA) April 18, 2018
Through BC Housing, prospective community housing sector and municipal partners are invited to submit proposals to develop and operate mixed-income housing projects.
Thirty per cent of the units will be available at affordable market rents for those earning up to $70,000 and families earning up to $140,000 annually. Fifty per cent of the units will have rent geared to individual income and 20 per cent will be offered at shelter rates.
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Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Selina Robinson, said the Community Housing Fund will help those who have been squeezed out of the tight rental market to be able to find a home in their communities.
“People are struggling in the midst of this housing crisis,” she said. “We need to do everything we can to make housing more affordable.”
The announcement is part of the province’s larger Affordable Housing Plan, pledging $7 billion over 10 years, with a target of creating 114,000 new homes including affordable market rental, non-profit, co-op, supported social housing and owner-purchase housing.
