B.C. is expanding its secondary suite program to 16 regional districts.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said Tuesday (Jan. 30) that 16 of the province’s 27 regional districts already have the necessary building bylaws and building-permit and inspections services to make them eligible for the three-year Secondary Suites Incentive Program. In the second or third years of the program, the province will look at whether or not it can add the remaining regional districts.
The program, which was announced in September 2023 for all 161 incorporated municipalities and set to launch April 2024, is aimed at adding as many as 1,000 affordable rental units per year for the three years.
READ MORE: Home Suite Home: B.C. announces measures to accelerate housing creation
The province says it will provide approximately 3,000 homeowners will forgivable loans for as much as $40,000 to create a new secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit on their property. The units must be rented below market rates for at least five years.
“Rural homeowners who want to create a rental suite and people looking for affordable homes in rural B.C. will have more options soon,” said Roly Russell, B.C.’s rural development parliamentary secretary.
The 16 regional districts now included in the program are: Alberni-Clayoquot, Capital, Central Kootenay, Central Okanagan, Cowichan Valley, East Kootenay, Fraser Valley, Fraser-Fort George, Kootenay Boundary, Nanaimo, North Okanagan, Squamish-Lillooet, Strathcona, Sunshine Coast, Thompson-Nicola and Peace River.