Housing co-ops will be hard pressed to find any good news in this week’s provincial budget, no matter how closely they look. While it’s true that the province’s pre-budget announcements included record investments in new housing development, close to 4,000 low-income co-op households who depend on some form of government assistance to keep their homes affordable will still be wondering what the future holds for them.“

Most of the agreements providing this assistance will end in the next five years, and co-ops were looking to the provincial budget for news of a long-term rent supplement solution that will help to ensure that thousands of low-income residents don’t lose their homes,” said Thom Armstrong, Executive Director of CHF BC.

Prior to the budget, CHF BC joined with other housing advocates under the banner of Housing Central to urge the province to continue investing in affordable housing.

Kishone Roy, CEO of the BC Non-Profit Housing Association said “As B.C.’s population surges, it is critical that the province continue to partner in building new rental supply of all types, particularly social housing that addresses homelessness.” He added, “we believe that both building new supply and providing more direct support to renters are necessary to tackle the affordable housing crisis.”

The provincial election scheduled for May 9 is an opportunity for co-op members to once again ask all candidates how they will help unlock a long-term solution to keep co-op homes affordable for everyone.

Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming election. And consider joining us at the Member Forum on March 20, where we’ll talk about the issues and share strategies to make housing central on May 9th.