New housing data coming forward to City Council next week shows that the City of Vancouver is doing far more than any other city in the region to both protect and increase rental housing, and is a leader nationally in creating new rental housing.
Vancouver City Council has voted to approve recommendations from City staff regarding the allocation of revenue collected to date from the first year of the Empty Homes Tax. Council approved staff recommendations that will see $8 million invested in a variety of affordable housing initiatives, with the majority going towards building more co-op and non-profit housing and improvements to living conditions in low-income housing.
A month after launching the new short-term rental regulations on April 19, the City is actively investigating over 1,500 listings which appear to be illegal. These include commercial operations and illegal/unsafe units that will not qualify under the new licensing program, in order to protect the safety and availability of Vancouver’s long-term rental stock.
The first phase of new affordable housing is now open at Fraserview Co-operative Housing, providing 90 new apartments and townhomes in southeast Vancouver’s River District. With the expected completion of phase two later this year, Fraserview Co-op will provide a total of 278 new homes for people who live and work in Vancouver. The project is built on City land and the City selected the Community Land Trust to develop the building.
Public input on affordable housing investments to shape City recommendations
April 9, 2018 (Vancouver, BC) A new City-run pilot program is supporting the development of rental units for individuals and families earning between $30,000 and $80,000 annually.
The Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program is incentivizing the construction of rental apartment buildings where at least 20 per cent of the residential floor space is permanently affordable and targeted to households with moderate incomes.