The Province is supporting local governments to build more housing for people faster with funding to help them meet new provincial legislative requirements.

“There is an urgent need for more homes for people, and we are working with local governments to build this housing faster,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “With new housing actions to build homes in our communities, it is important that we support local governments to improve the processes to get the housing built that people in our community desperately need. By providing them with upfront funding, instead of distributing it over time, local governments will be able to support the building of more housing as quickly as possible.”

The Province recently passed a series of legislation aimed at creating more housing, such as transit-oriented development and small-scale, multi-unit housing. Starting Jan. 18, 2024, the Province will provide $51 million in grant-based funding from Budget 2023 to all municipalities, regional districts and the Islands Trust – a total of 188 local governments – in British Columbia. This funding is intended to support local governments to meet the new legislated requirements. 

Recognizing that local governments need immediate support to fulfil the requirements, the Province is providing this funding up front to help them undertake the necessary work. Local governments can use this funding to update housing needs reports, zoning bylaws, development cost charge and amenity cost charge bylaws, and community plans by hiring consultants and staff, and to do research and community engagement, as part of the transition to improve the development approvals process. This funding will be especially beneficial for smaller local governments that may have fewer resources to make changes.

This funding is part of the historic $19-billion housing investment by government. Since 2017, the Province has more than 77,000 homes that have been delivered or are underway.

Quick Facts:

• In addition to the $51 million, the Province has provided a further investment of $10 million for a second intake for the Local Government Development Approvals Program (LGDAP), an application-based grant fund managed by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities that launched in 2021.
• LGDAP grants support local government-initiated projects to implement best practices and test innovative approaches to improve their development approval processes.
• Applications for this funding opened Jan. 1, 2024. Successful recipients may be announced in spring 2024.

Learn More:

To know the funding allocations per local government, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Funding_allocation.pdf

To read more about the local government housing initiatives, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/local-governments-and-housing/housing-initiatives

To learn more about government’s new Homes for People action plan, visit:
https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023HOUS0019-000436

To learn about the steps the Province is taking to tackle the housing crisis and deliver affordable homes for British Columbians, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/housing/