rennie landscape Fall 2023

policy

FOCUSING ON RENTS BY TAXING FEWER DOLLARS AND CENTS On September 14th, the federal government announced it would be removing GST from all new purpose-built rental construction, including student and seniors’ housing, by offering a 100% rebate on any homes that start construction by 2030 and complete by 2035. This is a welcome policy that will make the development of significantly more rental housing viable, and we expect the pace of new rental housing construction to increase as a direct result. A day earlier, the government also

which was first announced in 2021, allocates $4 billion in funding until 2027 to increase homebuilding in cites. The September announcement is the first funding that has been rolled out—$74 million to London, Ontario—to encourage approving high- density development without the need for rezoning, entice the construction four-unit developments in low-density neighbourhoods, more easily dispose of city-owned lands, and create partnerships with non-profits. While the Housing Accelerator Fund has been slow to get off the ground, this is a first step towards increasing the pace of housing construction and we look forward to seeing more. to a 1.0 FSR. While this change will likely add some infill density at the margin to the City of Vancouver, and increase the supply of homes in low-density neighbourhood to some extent, it is highly unlikely that anything more than a minimal proportion of any new multiplexes built will be as rental, given existing development costs. Time will tell if this becomes a blueprint for single-family neighbourhoods in other metropolitan areas of BC.

announced its first funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund. This fund,

MULTIPLEXES AND VANCOUVER: ARE THE CITY’S SINGLE DAYS A THING OF THE PAST? The City of Vancouver unanimously passed a motion on September 14th that allows up to eight rental homes or six strata-titled (owned) homes on a previously single-family lot. The motion allows for multiplex homes as an option for new buildings along with an amendment for the option of adding units to existing character homes. The motion also changes the allowable floor-space ratio (FSR) on single-family home zones to 0.6—down from 0.7—and allows multiplex buildings up

Copyright © 2023 rennie group of companies. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the rennie group of companies. Current as of September 2023. While the information and data contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. rennie group of companies does not assume responsibility or liability for any inaccuracies. The recipient of the information should take steps as the recipient may deem necessary to verify the information prior to placing any reliance upon the information. The information contained within this report should not be used as an opinion of value, such opinions should and can be obtained from a rennie and associates advisor. All information is subject to change and any property may be withdrawn from the market at any time without notice or obligation to the recipient from rennie group of companies. E.&O.E.

rennie.com

45

Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online