Diverse Collection of Organizations Call Upon BC Government to Establish a Permanent Housing Roundtable to Collaborate and Test New Housing Policy

Surrey, BC – April 20, 2023. A collection of organizations across the housing continuum is calling upon the BC Government to establish a permanent housing roundtable to address the ongoing housing crisis, announced at a Surrey Board of Trade event today.  

British Columbia is amidst a housing attainability and affordability crisis. Intense public concern around escalation in housing costs, rising interest rates, and low inventory has created a challenging set of conditions within the province. 

“Premier Eby and Housing Minister Kahlon are showing a great willingness to implement change and tackle BC’s housing issues head-on, and that’s to be commended,” says Trevor Hargreaves, Senior Vice President of Policy Research & Advocacy at the BC Real Estate Association. “What’s lacking here isn’t new ideas, but process. We’re calling upon government today to create a permanent housing roundtable that will add more rigour to the policy-making process in BC, and create a structure that better utilizes the broad collection of expertise within the market and non-market housing organizations that can be brought to the table. The only outcome here would be stronger and more effective housing policy.”

By gathering housing experts from across the housing spectrum, along with federal, provincial, local, and Indigenous governments, to collaborate, share ideas, and craft advance feedback and analysis of unintended consequences for any new policy announcements, this will create a more thorough review and advisory panel for new ideas, policy or legislation.

Notably, this is an issue that has the support of a broad collection of market and non-market housing organizations. The ask is supported by the Aboriginal Housing Management Association, Active Manufactured Home Owners Society, Appraisal Institute of Canada - BC Association, BC Non-Profit Housing Association, BC Real Estate Association, Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association - BC, LandlordBC, Mortgage and Title Insurance Industry Association of Canada, Small Housing BC and the Surrey Board of Trade.

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Click here for the PDF version.

Click here to view the technical brief on the Permanent British Columbia Housing Roundtable proposal.

Quotes:
Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade –
“The Surrey Board of Trade supports the establishment of a permanent housing roundtable which will in fact reduce red tape, increase efficiencies and increase housing supply – needed workforce housing to support our businesses.”

David Hutniak, CEO, Landlord BC – 
“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.”

Trevor Hargreaves, Senior VP, Policy Research & Advocacy, BC Real Estate Association –    
“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.”

Media Contacts:
Trevor Hargreaves
Senior VP, Policy Research & Advocacy
BC Real Estate Association
[email protected]
236.333.4572

Morgan Guo
Media Relations
BC Real Estate Association
[email protected]
778.373.6483

Anita Huberman
President & CEO
Surrey Board of Trade
[email protected]
604.340.3899

David Hutniak
CEO
LandlordBC
[email protected]
604.644.6838

About BC Real Estate Association
BCREA is the professional association for over 26,000 commercial and residential REALTORS® in BC. Our mission is to empower the province’s eight real estate boards by sharing our expertise and providing professional development opportunities, advocacy, economic research and standard forms so REALTORS® are trusted, respected and proud of their profession.

About LandlordBC
LandlordBC is the industry leader for the residential rental housing industry in British Columbia. It is our mission to support you and your rental housing business. Whether you have one unit or hundreds of rentals, LandlordBC prides itself on professionalizing the rental housing industry through education, support, and most importantly, government advocacy.

About Surrey Board of Trade
The Surrey Board of Trade attracts business to Surrey and supports business in Surrey. We provide businesses and organizations with economic opportunity, workplace development and education, international trade, government advocacy and business connections. We believe that transportation and education are the two economic foundations of building our city.

                                                                                    

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