Housing strategies and action plans

A housing strategy or action plan outlines how a local government will respond to its community's unique housing needs. It typically addresses the full range of housing options including: social housing, rental housing and home ownership.

This type of document has no specific requirements for form or content. Sometimes it's used as a supplement to an official community plan or regional growth strategy.

Strategies include:

• Actions to support social housing
• Targets for creating or preserving affordable housing to meet future demand
• Affordable market housing policies

Small community examples

Quesnel: created an Affordable Housing Strategy that identifies a vision for the community, as well as challenges, priorities and actions for affordable housing. Their website includes a ‘desired outcome statement’ and links to affordable housing newsletters.

Mid-Size community examples

Chilliwack: created the Affordable Housing Strategy that identifies ways new emergency shelter, transitional and supportive housing for people with addictions and mental health issues, and affordable housing for low-income households, can be developed.

New Westminster:  prepared the Affordable Housing Strategy with two main goals:

• to preserve and enhance the City’s stock of safe, affordable, and appropriate rental housing; and
• to improve housing choices for low- and moderate-income residents and those with unique needs.

The Strategy recommends nine strategic directions to support these goals, including limiting the loss of existing affordable rental housing, and using financial tools and incentives.

Large community examples

Abbotsford: the affordable housing section of their website includes information on the City's housing affordability initiatives and programs, including a number of policies to support housing affordability and the preparation of an Affordable Housing Strategy (PDF, 4 MB).

Kelowna: developed a Housing Strategy (PDF, 4.8 MB), created financial incentives for the development of affordable housing and redevelopment of the city centre and Rutland, and offers several other housing programs and resources.

Richmond: created an Affordable Housing Strategy that focuses on three priorities:

• subsidized rental housing;
• low-end market rental housing; and
• entry-level home ownership.

The City recognizes that, while it has “multiple tools and resources that it can contribute towards creating a wide variety of affordable housing options, it requires the valuable input of community members in order to achieve its goals.”

Vancouver: the City has developed a new 10-year housing strategy for Vancouver, Housing Vancouver, which includes the goal of building 72,000 new homes across Vancouver.

The content on this website is periodically reviewed and updated by the Province of British Columbia as per the date noted on each page: February 20, 2018.