Housing is an important human issue. Shelter is important to life in general. When we look at higher life forms, life forms that move beyond bacteria and things like that, we start to see things happen that even one plant will position itself underneath a taller plant so that it gets the appropriate amount of food, rain, and sunshine not too much, not too little, the appropriate amount so that it can grow and thrive. When we look at other species of animals we see more of things like shelters where nests are built, dens are dug out burrows all types of animals build some sort of shelter or den for them to stay safe, dry, and warm. Why aren’t human beings any different? When we start to look at human beings, we start to look at what is going to be dignified for a human being to actually live and here’s where we start to run into actual trouble that one person’s idea of the perfect home may not coincide with the other persons and yet we all have to live cohesively within a society. So these are some of the issues that are going to be talked about by David Eby and the Ministers that he’s invited into a press conference about housing, how do we find a method of discovering what is going to offer housing for people? Right now there’s a problem with tents and encampments popping up all over BC because of a homeless problem. The homeless problem was brought about one financial difficulty to find a home, and mental health to stay in a home. Financial difficulties may sound a little easier to solve than then mental health. When we start to look at mental health there are people out there that simply put, if you put them in more than say 100 square feet, they become overwhelmed. So finding them a detached single-family home may not solve their issues with housing, and they still might wind up back on the street again, because that home even a one-bedroom apartment, maybe too much for them to handle. So we can figure out who is going to go into what type of shelter and figure out what it is that they really want. And what it is that they truly need. So that we all have safety. We all have dignity. And we’re all heard in our society. So why don’t we listen to what David Eby comes up with his ministers around the idea of building homes and placing people in those homes so that the encampments start to disappear, and people can be safe wherever it is that they want to live? So we heard David Eby actually say that massive development may not be the answer that we’re actually looking for. To solve the homeless problem that SROs aren’t going to on their own aren’t going to be the sole we need to find a mixture in the right mixture to truly help people and it sounds like he may be on a good start. But the thing is, is there are other factors involved in this because we have a whole real estate and building and construction development industry we have people who are looking for government to maintain a certain level of infrastructure, and they’re looking for government to act quickly as possible. The actions that we’re talking about may take time. And is it public in general going to be willing to wait for that time to happen? Are people going to be patient enough for the process to work? Well, we’re going to have the need to meet in this case need to trust to see where processes leading us and see if that process is going to be appropriate for our community
New action plan delivers more homes for people, faster
The Province’s new housing plan will speed up delivery of new homes, increase the supply of middle-income housing, fight speculation and help those who need it the most.
The Homes for People plan will deliver more homes people need in a shorter timeframe and build more vibrant communities throughout B.C.
“If you’ve scrolled through rental listings or seen the prices of homes in your community, you know how tough it is to find an affordable, decent place to live,” said Premier David Eby. “Even though our province is currently building more housing than ever before, it’s just not enough to meet the need. This plan will take us to the next level with unprecedented actions to tackle the challenges head on, delivering even more homes for people, faster.”
Focused on four priorities – unlocking more homes faster; delivering better, more affordable homes; helping those with the greatest housing need; and creating a housing market for people, not speculators – the actions in Homes for People include:
- delivering more middle-income small-scale, multi-unit housing that people can afford, including town homes, duplexes and triplexes through zoning changes and proactive partnerships;
- offering forgivable loans for homeowners to build and rent secondary suites below market rates to increase affordable rental supply quickly;
- building thousands more affordable homes for renters, Indigenous Peoples on and off reserve, women and children leaving violence, and building thousands more on-campus student housing units;
- delivering thousands of new homes near public transit, and launching BC Builds to use public land to deliver affordable homes for people;
- introducing a flipping tax to discourage short-term speculation;
- providing an annual income-tested tax credit of up to $400 per year for renters;
- providing more homes and supports for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness;
- streamlining and modernizing permitting to reduce costs and speed up approvals to get homes built faster; and
- strengthening enforcement of short-term rentals.
“We are in urgent need of more housing throughout British Columbia, which is why we are taking strong steps through our Homes for People strategy to close the gap between supply and demand,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing. “We are working with our partners to unlock more homes across the spectrum of housing faster than ever, so everyone in our province can have a safe, secure and stable place to call home.”
Building on major new investments to build affordable housing in the past five years and measures to reduce speculation and protect people in an overheated housing market, Homes for People tackles persistent permitting and zoning challenges, facilitating the delivery of the housing people need, faster. The plan unlocks more homes by creating the conditions to encourage faster housing construction and reduce development costs, including changes in regulations and zoning, less red tape, more incentives, and a focus on targeted types of housing.
Homes for People also delivers more housing people can afford to rent or buy, including more homes within reach for first-time homebuyers, and protects renters. It supports those who need it the most with more housing for those experiencing homelessness and helps more people afford to find a place to call home. Actions in the plan also aim to build a housing market that puts people ahead of profit with measures to crack down on speculators and profiteers and get the proceeds of crime out of the real estate market.
Alongside Homes for People, government is implementing Belonging in BC, a plan to prevent and reduce homelessness. The plan adds 3,900 new supportive housing units and 240 complex-care spaces provincewide, and creates multidisciplinary regional response teams designed to rapidly respond to encampments to better support people sheltering outdoors to move inside.
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