03/20/2024
Another priority for REALTORS®, real estate board staff, and BCREA as we meet with MLAs this week in Victoria is the establishment of a permanent provincial housing roundtable. While the province is actively tackling the housing crisis, the most significant impact comes with collaboration. Policies must align with federal programs, gain local government support, and be practical for organizations building housing.
While the province introduces legislation like Bills 44 and 47 to boost housing construction, criticism from local mayors and housing experts suggests operational challenges. Due to impracticality, some policies may need to improve in delivering the much-needed housing supply.
🤝 To enhance the impact of new housing policies, we suggest the BC Government establish a permanent provincial housing roundtable. This inclusive forum would bring together federal, provincial, municipal/regional, and Indigenous government authorities, market and non-market developers/builders, real estate professionals, and civil society organizations. This proactive approach minimizes conflicts, redundancies, and unintended consequences in housing policies.
🏠 Market and non-market stakeholders, being frontline players, possess vital community-specific data on housing attainability. Their input and advice from various housing-related organizations ensure policies align with diverse needs.
Contrary to concerns about size, the roundtable would only include some stakeholders but will consist of a reasonable number representing diverse sub-sectors.
This model mirrors successful practices in other policy areas, like the Energy Step Code Council and Development Finance Review Committee. Let's learn from these successes and drive effective housing solutions.
