Homes for people.
BC Builds uses government, community and non-profit owned land, low- cost financing, and grants to lower construction costs, speed up timelines, and deliver more homes that middle-income British Columbians can afford.
For renters in British Columbia
who are looking
for housing
For government, non-profit, and community landowners
who want rental housing on land they own
For residential developers and housing operators
who want to build or operate rental housing
BC Builds is a housing program, delivered by BC Housing, to speed up the development of new homes for middle-income working people throughout British Columbia.
Today, the development of new rental housing is impacted by inflation, the cost of land, the cost of construction, and high interest rates. This can make financing and building new rental housing challenging.
BC Builds uses low-cost land, low-interest financing, grants, and speeds up project timelines to reduce how long it takes to get a building from concept to construction.
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- BC Builds is meant to help middle-income British Columbians – such as teachers, nurses, transit operators, construction workers, small business owners, and others – find housing they can afford, in the communities where they live and work.
- BC Builds delivers housing for households at the top end of current BC Housing program income eligibility and beyond, to meet the growing need for more housing for people in these middle-income ranges.
- Provincial contributions to BC Builds can produce rents that will be attainable for households with incomes:
- $84,780 to $131,950 for a studio or one-bedroom home
- $134,410 to $191,910 for a two-bedroom home or larger
- Contributions of low-cost land, equity and waived fees from partners will make it possible to build housing that will be affordable for households below this range.
- BC Builds is not a traditional government housing program – there are other government and BC Housing programs that provide homes for low- to moderate-income earners.
- BC Builds brings together landowners and residential developers to speed up project development timelines.
- This is done by facilitating partnerships, supporting evaluation of proposals, streamlining development processes and by providing a dedicated team to work through obstacles as they arise.
- The goal of BC Builds is to move projects from concept to construction in 12-18 months, rather than the typical three-to-five years.
- Also, a key component of the initiative is to leverage underused public lands (parking lots, on top of community centres/fire halls) to create more viable rental projects, along with grant money to keep rents more affordable and get projects off the ground.
- Once a project is built, the cost of rent will be established following an appraisal of rents in the community with the target of middle-income households spending no more than 30% of their income on rent.
- Rental rates will be determined through an analysis of incomes, rents, and development costs within the community. That means rents will differ from community to community.
- In BC Builds buildings owned and operated by non-profit societies, First Nations development corporations, or public entities, at least 20% of the homes will be rented at 20% below market rents, made possible through government construction financing and grants.
- For projects with non-profit partners, public housing corporations or First Nations-controlled development corporations receiving capital grants of up to $225,000/unit: units must target eligible households for a minimum of 35 years.
- Non-profits are mission driven organizations and keep rents below market in perpetuity.
- The 35 years is set by the length of the mortgage.
- A list of completed projects that are accepting applications for their first tenants will be made available on this page.
- BC Builds rental listings will also be made available through traditional renting platforms.
- If you are looking for low-income or supportive housing through BC Housing, it’s available on this page.
BC Builds current sites and projects
BC Builds is hard at work in communities across British Columbia to get homes built for middle-income households and families. Use the map below to view proposed projects underway through the development process.