Part B: Ministry of Office of Housing and Construction Standards — Continued

Strategic Context

Housing need and the provincial government's response can be viewed as a continuum. At one end are people who cannot house themselves without some form of government assistance. At the other end are people who can adequately house themselves in the private housing market. The continuum spans low to high-income, homelessness to homeownership, dependence to self-sufficiency. Government housing assistance is strategically designed to promote movement along the continuum towards greater self sufficiency and homeownership. Underlying the continuum are foundational elements including the BC Building Code, the Homeowner Protection Act and the Residential Tenancy Act. These governing elements contribute to consumer protection and the safety and stability of our housing.

The vast majority of British Columbians are housed successfully in BC's private housing market. BC Stats reported that in 2005/06, approximately 36 per cent of BC households were renters and 64 per cent are homeowners. Even with the rising cost of renting and homeownership in BC's larger urban centres, the private market was adequately meeting the housing need of approximately 85 per cent of BC's population.

For the remaining 15 per cent that are unable to meet their housing need in the private market, government support is necessary to meet their housing requirements.

According to the June 2005 RBC Financial Group's Housing Affordability Study, housing in some areas of BC is the most expensive in the country, and the gap between what people earned and the cost of housing grew. Greater Vancouver had the highest prices and worst affordability index in Canada. Creeping interest rates and scarcity of land were factors in making home ownership too costly for the average family. The affordability issue is forecast to worsen.

BC's building boom, coupled with an aging workforce, resulted in a shortage of skilled labour in the housing and construction sectors. This has driven the cost of construction up, making housing even less affordable.

Counts of homeless populations in 2005/06 Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and the Fraser Valley suggested the number of homeless increased. Families and the "working poor" have joined people with mental illness and addictions evident in the homeless populations. As a result, the problem of homelessness is evident in virtually every community across the province. In responding to this, the Office of Housing and Construction Standards has taken a leadership role on the Premier's Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions Working Group. The Working Group has implemented the Task Force's direction and has created successful partnerships with funding ministries, local governments and service agencies.

Demographic trends point to a growing seniors population with fixed incomes and a need for housing with supports. The number of senior-led households is expected to increase by over 60 per cent from 246,000 in 2001 to more than 397,000 by 2021².

Very few new rental units were built in the private market, and those that were did not fall into the affordable housing category. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported only 934 purpose-built rental housing units under construction in BC in 2004.

One of the key mandates of the Office of Housing and Construction Standards in 2005/06 was to provide leadership in housing and to develop and implement a comprehensive provincial housing strategy. To achieve this mandate, the integration of services and the building of partnerships with local and federal governments and with the private and non-profit sectors are paramount to success. The housing strategy had been substantially developed by the end of 2005/06.

In the building safety realm, several factors are increasing the need for flexibility in provincial regulatory frameworks. Free trade agreements with other jurisdictions both within and external to Canada provide opportunities for provincial industry and business, but safety regulations which are not harmonized across jurisdictions can limit industry's ability to build on these possibilities. The pace of technological change has increased due to use of information technology and increased competition, and the structure of safety regulation can either enable or limit technological innovation in the province. As well, other jurisdictions in Canada and worldwide are implementing "smart regulation" principles such as objective based codes, decreasing the regulatory burden on their citizens and businesses.

Within this context, the Office of Housing and Construction Standards contributed to achievement of two of government's Five Great Goals:

2	Based on estimates published by BC Stats under P.E.O.P.L.E. Projection 29.