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  Specific Topics of Lobbying Communications	Intended Outcomes	Associated Subject Matters
  More Missing Middle Housing Options for British Columbians Affordable, appropriate housing is unattainable for too many British Columbians. The average MLS® residential price in March 2023 was over $941,000, and the supply of listings is low by historical standards. Single-detached homes are generally the most expensive type of housing in any municipality, with the largest carbon footprints, maintenance costs, and property taxes compared to other housing types. While single-detached homes are important for many families, they are also out of reach for many British Columbian families, particularly for first-time homebuyers. Missing Middle Housing, which describes a range of multi-unit or clustered housing types compatible in scale with single-family homes, can help meet the need of our province’s current and future population. The ability to distribute the high cost of land amongst several housing units improves affordability. Single-detached zoning currently makes up 60-75 per cent of residential zoning designations in BC and assigns the entire cost of one lot to one dwelling unit. Building up to four or six units on a lot will dramatically reduce the land component of each dwelling unit and, therefore, the cost of each unit. Each unit will be significantly smaller, and given the high construction cost in the current market, this will also decrease the cost of each unit. Missing Middle Housing can be built quickly compared to large apartment buildings. They can also be developed without the costly and time-consuming land assembly process to achieve minimum site sizes. This type of housing can be built by small contractors using less complex construction techniques. Opening up more housing options will allow young families to move into neighbourhoods experiencing population stagnation, generating more school enrollment, and providing more support for commercial businesses. Recommendation: Apply zoning legislation across the province REALTORS® commend large parts of the BC Government’s “Homes for People” action plan, especially the commitment to introduce legislation allowing up to four units on a traditional single-family detached lot with additional density permitted in areas well-served by transit. “Land lift” is the increase in property value that occurs when a lot is rezoned to accommodate more units. Bidding wars and speculative land lift can happen when an artificial shortage is created by applying this policy to select areas or municipalities. By making the government’s zoning legislation applicable to all single-detached lots within the province, or at least a given region, there will be no shortage of available developable lots, which should prevent bidding wars. Housing unattainability is a crisis across the province, including northern and rural communities. Policies providing more attainable homes must be considered across the province, not just in the Lower Mainland and the Capital Regional District. While each community has its unique challenges, providing more housing options for more people is necessary across the province.	Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity	Consumer Issues, Housing
  Permanent British Columbia Housing Roundtable The current process of development for new housing policy is neither efficient nor effective. There is significant need for a more collaborative, multi-stakeholder process to identify the obstacles to housing attainability and the factors limiting the housing supply response across the housing spectrum. Achieving more attainable housing for British Columbians requires a robust and coordinated effort between different levels of government, in close collaboration with market and non-market housing stakeholders. On-the-ground real estate expertise is underutilized in the policy process. The BC Government has made commendable progress on housing attainability solutions through the “Homes for People” Action Plan, the Housing Supply Act, the creation of a separate Ministry of Housing, new investments in non-market housing, and the establishment of the BC Builds program. While these are important advancements, their implementation will determine their effectiveness. The lack of a permanent, holistic, coordinated approach to housing attainability has reduced the intended benefits of housing policy and worse, produced unintended negative consequences for consumers that could have been anticipated and avoided with fulsome sector engagement. For example, Bill 44’s removal of only some strata age restrictions has resulted in even fewer opportunities for growing families and first-time homebuyers, as some strata corporations have shifted their age limits to 55-plus. With a housing roundtable, sector input could have anticipated this effect and proposed mitigating suggestions. Recommendation: Create a permanent housing roundtable within the newly created Ministry of Housing. The provincial government should convene a permanent housing roundtable, bringing together representatives of federal, provincial, municipal, and Indigenous government authorities, along with builders, boards of trade, real estate professionals, non-market housing organizations, and civil society organizations. Much of the sectoral policy expertise does not exist solely at the governmental level. Many of these stakeholders are rarely adequately consulted, nor is there a permanently established process for the ongoing sharing of ideas, perspectives and approaches between these groups. Market, non-market, and government representatives are all equally dedicated to creating sound housing policy for British Columbians to increase housing supply across the housing continuum. The time has come to establish a better process to harness these collective interests and expertise. The roundtable’s purpose should be to engage British Columbian housing stakeholders and build upon previous examples of well-researched work and effective sectoral consultation conducted by the provincial government. As such, the roundtable’s focus should be on how best to implement the “Development Approvals Process Review” and the “Canada-British Columbia Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability” final report recommendations. While the roundtable should consider increasing access to housing for all British Columbians, it should give special attention to the most at-need groups, such as persons with disabilities, underhoused individuals, and Indigenous communities. REALTORS® are on the frontlines of the challenges in market housing. They are the primary source of data on housing markets, enabling them to provide on-the-ground knowledge to identify where and to what degree market challenges exist in their community.	Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity	Consumer Issues, Housing
  IMPROVING CONSUMER PROTECTIONS Due to market conditions, buyers may feel the need to purchase a home without conducting due diligence. REALTORS® share the government’s objective of increasing protections for homebuyers; however, we are concerned about the government’s framework in the Property Law Amendment Act, which will establish a right for purchasers to rescind (also known as a “cooling off period”) on their contract of purchase of sale for all residential real estate transactions. ENHANCE THE REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION FRAMEWORK Implementing a “cooling off period” is not the answer to this problem, as it does not provide more time for a buyer to consider a decision prior to making an offer. According to recent polling, only 35 per cent of British Columbians support a "cooling off period." Additionally, a majority of Realtors are concerned that if a “cooling off period” is implemented: • it would worsen affordability by increasing the number of offers, • it could worsen supply, as buyers with multiple accepted offers effectively remove properties from the market for the duration of the cooling off period, • consumers will look for work arounds, which may lead to more unrepresented parties, • there is a lack of metrics to understand the effectiveness of a “cooling off period,” • the impacts will be significantly different in a seller’s market compared to a buyer’s market, • there will be an imbalance between the rights of buyers and sellers, • there will be an increase in frivolous offers, • if used indiscriminately by buyers, a “cooling off period” could tie up multiple houses in a neighbourhood. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. If a "cooling off period" is implemented, create an exemption for situations where both the buyer and seller agree to waive their right to rescission. There are many instances where a mandatory rescission period would not make sense, such as if a property needs to be sold as quickly as possible as a result of divorce, health problems, or other unexpected instances. In these circumstances, if both the buyer and seller have a clear understanding of the risks they are taking, they should be able to sign a waiver allowing themselves to be exempt. In addition, properties sold by auction negate the need for a mandatory rescission period, similar to what is already in place in Australian states. 2. Engage in further consultation with BCREA and real estate stakeholders to understand appropriate parameters for a “cooling off period.” To utilize the knowledge and expertise from within the sector, continued government engagement is necessary with BCREA, member boards and other real estate stakeholders prior to implementing a "cooling off period." Making the BC Financial Services Authority’s report public when it is finalized and conducting a review of the measure after six months of implementation will allow BCREA and other real estate stakeholders to have more fulsome knowledge on how to best work with the government in understanding parameters and necessary exemptions.	Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity	Consumer Issues, Housing
  IMPROVING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY REALTORS® are concerned about escalating home prices out of the reach of many British Columbian families. Rising housing prices are caused by a mismatch between supply and demand. New listings activity is not keeping up with sales and, as a result, 2022 began with the lowest level of active listings on record for BC. These trends caused the average residential home price on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) to rise 24.9 per cent in March 2022 compared to the previous year. According to a January 2021 survey of unsuccessful homebuyers in BC, the most common reason for their unsuccessful purchase was competition from other potential buyers (49 per cent), followed by inadequate financing (31 per cent). The largest issue that arose from successful homebuyers was pressure to make an offer uncomfortably above the list price in order to be competitive (22 per cent). The BC Government has already established a framework to address affordability issues through the Development Approvals Process Review (DAPR) and the Canada-BC Expert Panel on the Future of Housing Supply and Affordability (Expert Panel). The Expert Panel is clear that, “simply put, BC needs to build the many additional homes required to adequately house a growing population and economy.” We are encouraged that the government recognizes the importance of improving housing supply and that the status quo is not acceptable. Positive first steps have been made, including introducing the Transportation Amendment Act, which will allow the province to acquire land for the purpose of building housing near transit stations, to increase housing supply along future transit corridors. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. A provincial policy review to consider tying development approvals to housing targets. This recommendation is forwarded by both the DAPR report and the Expert Panel. By tying development approvals with housing targets, such as an Official Community Plan or Housing Needs Report, building approval processes can be expedited, reducing housing costs and allowing supply to react more quickly to demand shocks. Both the Ontario and Alberta governments have passed legislation that caps the maximum allowable time limits on each stage of the development approval process. In both provinces, these limits are enforced by independent tribunals based on development applicant appeals. Tying development approvals to housing targets can reduce barriers to housing and accelerate the construction of the homes British Columbians need. 2. Establish a permanent housing roundtable. A provincially-led housing roundtable could bring together local governments and key housing market stakeholders to help address challenges with an inclusive and innovative approach. Working to improve housing affordability requires ongoing conversations and a toolkit of policies. Each region of BC and Canada has unique market conditions and governing regulations must be recognized and integrated as part of this approach. The BC Government should convene a permanent housing roundtable that includes market and non-market stakeholders and civil society organizations with a focus on how best to implement the DAPR report and Expert Panel recommendations.	Development of any legislative proposal by the government of British Columbia, a Provincial entity or a member of the Legislative Assembly Development or enactment of any regulation, including the enactment of a regulation for the purposes of amending or repealing a regulation Development, establishment, amendment or termination of any program, policy, directive or guideline of the government of British Columbia or a Provincial entity	Consumer Issues, Housing

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