BC United unveils housing plan with rent-to-own program, slashing PST for residential builds BC United unveils housing rent-to-own plan

BC United Leader Kevin Falcon unveiled his party’s housing plan Thursday morning, with a focus on helping renters get into the housing market.

The first point in Falcon’s plan is a rent-to-own home program. He explained that the BC United would push for 15 per cent of B.C.’s housing stock to be set aside as rent-to-own. Under the program, tenants would pay market rent rates over a three-year period, which would go entirely toward the down payment.

“At the end of that three-year period, they’d manage to save up a significant amount of money which will make a difference in allowing (them) to get into the housing market,” Falcon said.

“This is a very important shift from the approach the current government takes. And it will mean lots of current renters can get into the housing market and own their own home.”

Falcon is also looking to axe the property transfer tax on homes up to $1 million dollars for first-time homebuyers. That’s not the only tax Falcon’s looking to cut; he says that — if elected — BC United would eliminate PST on all new residential construction.

“We’re stripping out some of those costs that get added on virtually every single input cost that goes into housing,” Falcon said. “On a typical 350-unit apartment building, you’re talking about over $2 million in just PST alone.”

Another part of the proposal would be offering up empty public lands for private sector development of below-market housing units. Falcon says BC United would identify that land for up to 99-year leases for the private and non-profit sector for $1 a year.

“If you want more affordable housing, you have to make it less expensive,” he said. “You are not going to get there when you try to have government build the housing, or government be the developer, or government come up with these complex programs that nobody can figure out.”

Falcon took aim at the newly announced BC Builds program, calling it a rehashed annoucement of a failed NDP housing plan.

“It was supposed to build 114,000 affordable homes in ten years. They’ve built a fraction of that number, just over 16,000 — a total failure,” Falcon said. “…I don’t buy it, you shouldn’t either.”

Falcon says the BC United will unveil more housing policies in the months to come.

NDP Housing Minister calls plan ‘underwhelming’

No surprise here: NDP Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon isn’t a fan of Falcon’s plan.

“What I heard generally from the press conference and what I’ve seen so far is just the same old policies that have gotten us into this challenging situation,” Kahlon said.

Kahlon was most critical of Falcon’s pitch to offer up public lands to private developers.

“It sounds a lot like Little Mountain to me with the suggestion they’re going to lease it away to somebody else and hope housing gets built.”

When asked about getting rid of the property transfer tax and PST on new residential construction, Kahlon dodged — saying that the province needs to increase housing supply.

“They’ve opposed every single housing policy to cut red tape that we’ve brought forward,” he said. “And now they’ve come with an underwhelming housing strategy as a proposal. I was hoping for something substantial that we could have a debate on, but there’s nothing here.”

This all comes as BC United and the NDP begin ramping up their campaigns ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election.