Link to Connections: Advocacy News from the British Columbia Real Estate Association:
Online version or Mobile version.

  April 2017

Parties Promise Housing Affordability

All three major parties have dedicated substantial portions of their election platforms to housing. BCREA has prepared an analysis of each party's platform, assessing both the individual promises of each party, as well as how these promises compare to BCREA's recommendations.

Liberal Party
Mainly focuses on their recent work while in government, such as investments in rental housing and changes to the Property Transfer Tax (PTT). If re-elected in May, the party plans to continue with a gradual and measured approach, focusing on altering or expanding current policies rather than introducing new programming.

The Liberal platform does not address most of BCREA's recommendations. However, it does include promises to incentivize homeowners to add secondary suites and work with municipalities to speed up permitting processes for new housing.

NDP
Focuses heavily on renters, promising to create tens of thousands of new housing units, ensure tighter regulation of landlords and provide an annual renter's rebate to each rental household. The NDP also highlights speculation, proposing regulatory and financial mechanisms to control speculation and reduce tax fraud.

The NDP promises none of BCREA's recommendations related to the PTT, providing assistance to consumers or incentivizing local government best practices. The party's strength is in urban density initiatives, as their platform includes promises to increase homes along transit corridors and encourage diversity in family-oriented housing types.

Green Party
Hinges mainly on cooling the housing market to reduce demand, while simultaneously increasing new housing supply. Several of the party's proposals would be a marked change from current policy, and from both other major parties' proposals, such as altering the structure of the PTT and introducing new, additional taxes on properties. The party also promises to introduce a speculation PTT.

The Green Party hits the largest number of BCREA recommendations, including promises on creating green incentives for homeowners, working with business and non-profits to create more rental housing, increasing urban density, and incentivizing faster local government approval processes for new developments. BCREA recommendations regarding the PTT are not addressed, though.

To see more in-depth analysis of the party platforms, check out the full document here.


Click here to visit the BCREA Connections archive, available on BCREA Online.
Follow BCREA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bcrea.
 | Share: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Real estate boards, real estate associations and REALTORS® may reprint this content, provided that credit is given to BCREA by including the following statement: "Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission."