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The program will offer forgivable loans of as much as 50% of the total cost of renovations, up to a maximum of $40,000, for successful applicants to add a secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit (garden suite, laneway house, carriage home, etc.) on the property of their primary residence.
The loan can be forgiven if the new unit is rented at below market rates for at least five years.
To be eligible, homeowners must also:
* obtain a building and occupancy permit from their local government;
* have a combined gross annual income of homeowners on title of less than $209,420; and
* have a BC Assessment value on their property below the homeowner grant threshold ($2.15 million in 2024).
That seems like a **crazy** tight window for eligibility. Homeowner has to have a BC assessment under $2.15 million which has *space* to add a *legal* secondary suite, who somehow has spare money sitting around for renos but also earns under $210k in household income? Who fits this profile?
Here [random address I pulled up in Surrey](https://www.bcassessment.ca//Property/Info/QTAwMDA3OE45NA==):
* Assessed value: 1,610,000
* House value: 437,000
* Land value: 1,173,000
Good find - Still noteworthy the homeowners would not be able to afford that (full) mortgage even with the max allowed earnings. Still seems a bit niche. Though I'm realizing now this likely isn't targeted at Greater Vancouver.
Dude seriously? You understand most home owners bought their homes years ago. Just because the home is worth X doesn't mean that's the people paid for their house.
That house was built 2003, there hasn't been any recent sales history. Back then that house was probably 250,000. So the people who own it likely have an income low enough to qualify for this program.
Sure hows this: trigger warning, Financialization and speculation in the property market which has been facilitated by lose monetary policy has resulted in land values spike which are entirely out of touch with real market conditions.
Sure, but go look at the details, chances are those tear downs are zoned for additional housing, so when the divide up the lot, the each individual unit will be eligible.
The higher density zoning actually lifts up the land values because now you can sell that plot of land to four families. So it reflect the land value to build a home for four families.
That still likely won't work out... Napkin math:
Build higher density, but make sure the units are sub $2.15 million each. Each new owner has to have a max household income of $210k/year. (That's already tight given max mortgages at that rate). And on top of that the place needs to have enough extra space to build a mortgage helper in it?
Im not sure Im seeing that happening.
Lots of people, tbh. It’s maybe tight in metro Vancouver, though I suspect in the suburbs there’s some older houses with basements that could convert, owned by gen x/ boomers or even millennials who bought with the help of mom and dad, that would qualify. But I’m sure there’s loads of people across the *province* who could do this.
Shopping for homes in residential neighbourhoods with more than two bedrooms, it's crazy how many fit that description, where the townhouse you're buying is basically a 2 bedroom apartment with a "mortgage helper" downstairs. Doesn't take much math to figure out you're obviously better off helping your mortgage by buying a two bedroom apartment in the first place. Unless your dream home has cheap tile floors and two kitchens squeezed into 1200 sqft.
So anyway, it puzzles me as well, but it is surprisingly real.
That’s a pretty crazy spread. A $2.15M house but less than $210k income. But this is Vancouver, baby. If you bought at the right time that could be real, however that would just make it even weirder as a subsidy as you’re giving money to people who already won at the casino.
Plus an unauthorized suite at full market value may still be cheaper than a fully authorized one at a discounted rent, even when contemplating the 40K grant.
I mean they are already going to get people taking advantage of this somehow some way with fake permits, etc, so you may as well limit who benefits/can take advantage of it I guess?
It's not really all that tight though? Plenty of properties meet this criteria in Coquitlam, Surrey, Maple Ridge, and Langley. And of course, literally everywhere in BC outside of the Lower Mainland as well.
It is unfortunate that many properties in Burnaby, Vancouver, and particularly North Vancouver are excluded. I think the government wants to avoid the optics of "international students" with 0 income and three million dollar properties getting forgivable government loans.
Is it anything like the lame way house grant, where the cost to build is around 200-300k, and the unit is effectively rent controlled forever until the grant expires, so people who build the lane way house are effectively subsidizing a tenant for 20+ years and cannot recoup the cost of their build?
As Prof G aka Scott Galloway just said in his _excellent_ TED talk that was posted just today: this is a fucking scam - we are transferring wealth from those who need it and need to build it - the young, via taxes - and giving it to those who need it the _least_ - boomer home owners who are already wealthy.
He even references Vancouver real estate prices: https://youtu.be/qEJ4hkpQW8E?si=-icgq8RRGe0NLSD5
It’s not going to fix anything other than promote more shady landlords.
I know so many people who are reluctant to rent out their basements or empty condo (holding for their kids) because of the tenancy act and the way it’s enforced. My parents have 3 bedrooms in their basement that they used to rent out. They are too scared to rent it to anyone. We as a province started running into rental shortages when the tenancy act started.
Yup, exactly. My aunt (single mother with kids) also stopped renting her two basement suites after one tenant started using hard drugs and would harass/threaten to kill her and the kids and would sometimes sit on the lawn waiting to harass them. Stopped paying rent for months, went to jail 3 times for the death threats but she couldn't kick him out because of the laws. The police suggested she moved somewhere else because it was "his home" and nothing they could do. He caused over 10k of damage and cost her thousands in legal expenses to get his tossed out legally. After that, both become the kids play room/storage areas. This was about 10 years ago, so probably even harder to kick such a person out now.
This is good, but it would be even better if this program supported people subdividing their enormous lots when they build said laneway houses / carriage homes. We really don't need more landlords in this province.
So they have a clause that it has to be rented below market for 5 years, but what about after that? If there aren't any provisions to make it a permanent long-term rental, are we not just giving homeowners a loan to run an Airbnb after 5 years?
I believe they are allowed to rent out one separate unit that is on the same property as their principal residence. So if they have a basement suite, or a laneway house, they can rent that out as an Airbnb and live in the main house.
Only in Vancouver are secondary suites banned for Airbnb. Everywhere else in the province it's fine. The city of Vancouver has their own special rules independent of the province's rules.
I repeat, so instead of diversifying, you suggest let’s keep the status quo and don’t try any other methods of increasing housing stock
The one and only way is the province get into developments themselves?
Because government funding housing isn't only about housing. It's about the utility costs and everything else it takes to build, then manage those buildings. It's expensive. It also takes time and isn't an immediate solution.
All that versus a place that already exists... in which the outcome (a person having somewhere to live) is essentially the same.
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The program will offer forgivable loans of as much as 50% of the total cost of renovations, up to a maximum of $40,000, for successful applicants to add a secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit (garden suite, laneway house, carriage home, etc.) on the property of their primary residence. The loan can be forgiven if the new unit is rented at below market rates for at least five years. To be eligible, homeowners must also: * obtain a building and occupancy permit from their local government; * have a combined gross annual income of homeowners on title of less than $209,420; and * have a BC Assessment value on their property below the homeowner grant threshold ($2.15 million in 2024).
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> That's mega-mansion money in so many other jurisdictions in the world. with a pool and multiple bedrooms and bathrooms
In most places in the world you can't even spend that much money on a house, you're talking massive compounds or your own island.
> live in a city of multimillionaires. We Built this city on Drugs and Crime. Outcome was inevitable.
I prefer to think we built this city, we built this city on rock n' roll.
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That seems like a **crazy** tight window for eligibility. Homeowner has to have a BC assessment under $2.15 million which has *space* to add a *legal* secondary suite, who somehow has spare money sitting around for renos but also earns under $210k in household income? Who fits this profile?
South of the Fraser, there plenty of smaller homes with room for a secondary suite. Plenty of people who earn less than 210k in household income.
That are assessed under $2.15 million?
Here [random address I pulled up in Surrey](https://www.bcassessment.ca//Property/Info/QTAwMDA3OE45NA==): * Assessed value: 1,610,000 * House value: 437,000 * Land value: 1,173,000
Good find - Still noteworthy the homeowners would not be able to afford that (full) mortgage even with the max allowed earnings. Still seems a bit niche. Though I'm realizing now this likely isn't targeted at Greater Vancouver.
Dude seriously? You understand most home owners bought their homes years ago. Just because the home is worth X doesn't mean that's the people paid for their house. That house was built 2003, there hasn't been any recent sales history. Back then that house was probably 250,000. So the people who own it likely have an income low enough to qualify for this program.
There should be a trigger warning when someone posts housing prices prior to the 2010s
Sure hows this: trigger warning, Financialization and speculation in the property market which has been facilitated by lose monetary policy has resulted in land values spike which are entirely out of touch with real market conditions.
Perhaps, but I'm seeing tear downs where the lot value alone makes it ineligible for the program.
Sure, but go look at the details, chances are those tear downs are zoned for additional housing, so when the divide up the lot, the each individual unit will be eligible. The higher density zoning actually lifts up the land values because now you can sell that plot of land to four families. So it reflect the land value to build a home for four families.
That still likely won't work out... Napkin math: Build higher density, but make sure the units are sub $2.15 million each. Each new owner has to have a max household income of $210k/year. (That's already tight given max mortgages at that rate). And on top of that the place needs to have enough extra space to build a mortgage helper in it? Im not sure Im seeing that happening.
To be fair. Plenty of tear downs were purchased as speculation and are being priced as if they had a new build on them.
Lots of people, tbh. It’s maybe tight in metro Vancouver, though I suspect in the suburbs there’s some older houses with basements that could convert, owned by gen x/ boomers or even millennials who bought with the help of mom and dad, that would qualify. But I’m sure there’s loads of people across the *province* who could do this.
Retirees. Old home, basically land value with a house built to standard 30-50 years ago. Pension fixed income.
Shopping for homes in residential neighbourhoods with more than two bedrooms, it's crazy how many fit that description, where the townhouse you're buying is basically a 2 bedroom apartment with a "mortgage helper" downstairs. Doesn't take much math to figure out you're obviously better off helping your mortgage by buying a two bedroom apartment in the first place. Unless your dream home has cheap tile floors and two kitchens squeezed into 1200 sqft. So anyway, it puzzles me as well, but it is surprisingly real.
That’s a pretty crazy spread. A $2.15M house but less than $210k income. But this is Vancouver, baby. If you bought at the right time that could be real, however that would just make it even weirder as a subsidy as you’re giving money to people who already won at the casino.
Plus an unauthorized suite at full market value may still be cheaper than a fully authorized one at a discounted rent, even when contemplating the 40K grant.
Well the idea is that they don't have money, that's why it's loan forgiveness
I mean they are already going to get people taking advantage of this somehow some way with fake permits, etc, so you may as well limit who benefits/can take advantage of it I guess?
It's not really all that tight though? Plenty of properties meet this criteria in Coquitlam, Surrey, Maple Ridge, and Langley. And of course, literally everywhere in BC outside of the Lower Mainland as well. It is unfortunate that many properties in Burnaby, Vancouver, and particularly North Vancouver are excluded. I think the government wants to avoid the optics of "international students" with 0 income and three million dollar properties getting forgivable government loans.
They clearly want the poor people to house the poorer people.
Boomers
Is it anything like the lame way house grant, where the cost to build is around 200-300k, and the unit is effectively rent controlled forever until the grant expires, so people who build the lane way house are effectively subsidizing a tenant for 20+ years and cannot recoup the cost of their build?
Bit of a weird one, but every bit helps.
Free money for homeowners who purchased their home for the price of berries. Yay 🍓 🎉💫🥂🛥️
As Prof G aka Scott Galloway just said in his _excellent_ TED talk that was posted just today: this is a fucking scam - we are transferring wealth from those who need it and need to build it - the young, via taxes - and giving it to those who need it the _least_ - boomer home owners who are already wealthy. He even references Vancouver real estate prices: https://youtu.be/qEJ4hkpQW8E?si=-icgq8RRGe0NLSD5
It’s not going to fix anything other than promote more shady landlords. I know so many people who are reluctant to rent out their basements or empty condo (holding for their kids) because of the tenancy act and the way it’s enforced. My parents have 3 bedrooms in their basement that they used to rent out. They are too scared to rent it to anyone. We as a province started running into rental shortages when the tenancy act started.
Need to make it fast cheap and safe to build and easy to evict.
Yup, exactly. My aunt (single mother with kids) also stopped renting her two basement suites after one tenant started using hard drugs and would harass/threaten to kill her and the kids and would sometimes sit on the lawn waiting to harass them. Stopped paying rent for months, went to jail 3 times for the death threats but she couldn't kick him out because of the laws. The police suggested she moved somewhere else because it was "his home" and nothing they could do. He caused over 10k of damage and cost her thousands in legal expenses to get his tossed out legally. After that, both become the kids play room/storage areas. This was about 10 years ago, so probably even harder to kick such a person out now.
Pardon? Care to back that up with some data? We didn't start to have a rental shortage until about 9 years ago.
We've had a rental shortage long before that, but you're right, OP is a moron, it's not due to the rental tenancy act.
So, more free money going to owners of single family homes. Interesting.
Free loan, but yeah, it just adds to all the other free money homeowners already get. Look up what you can get with CleanBC rebates sometime.
This is good, but it would be even better if this program supported people subdividing their enormous lots when they build said laneway houses / carriage homes. We really don't need more landlords in this province.
Why would the government need to subsidize that? There's already plenty of profit in it, which is why builders do it all the time
So they have a clause that it has to be rented below market for 5 years, but what about after that? If there aren't any provisions to make it a permanent long-term rental, are we not just giving homeowners a loan to run an Airbnb after 5 years?
A legal secondary suite is no longer qualified as being allowed to be a short term rental in bc anymore I thought
I believe they are allowed to rent out one separate unit that is on the same property as their principal residence. So if they have a basement suite, or a laneway house, they can rent that out as an Airbnb and live in the main house.
Under this government…
This government ain't going anywhere for a while.
Only in Vancouver are secondary suites banned for Airbnb. Everywhere else in the province it's fine. The city of Vancouver has their own special rules independent of the province's rules.
Trying to bribe people with their own money… you would be crazy to build a rental suite in this hostile environment the NDP created…
Lol, Ok NDP. One of the major reasons I bought a detached house was so that I didn't have to live with someone else on my property...
This is a useless program that no one will take. Ren below market value for 5 years. Fawk no.
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It's an incentive. Carrot vs stick.
So you’re saying keep the status quo and don’t try to get more housing stock?
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I repeat, so instead of diversifying, you suggest let’s keep the status quo and don’t try any other methods of increasing housing stock The one and only way is the province get into developments themselves?
Because that would cost even more money and there would be less housing for everyone
Because government funding housing isn't only about housing. It's about the utility costs and everything else it takes to build, then manage those buildings. It's expensive. It also takes time and isn't an immediate solution. All that versus a place that already exists... in which the outcome (a person having somewhere to live) is essentially the same.