The Burnaby Housing Authority would help more residents find affordable housing in Burnaby
Burnaby City Council has approved in principle a plan to create a municipal housing authority to help create more secure, purpose-built housing in Burnaby, including non-market rental units, non-market ownership units and market rental units. Council will seek community input on the proposal this summer to help the City build a business case and submit the required application to the Province this fall.
“The 2021 Burnaby Housing Needs Report showed us that, over the next 5 to 10 years, the greatest demand for housing will be among those who can least afford it,” said Mayor Mike Hurley. “The proposed Burnaby Housing Authority will help us achieve our vision of Burnaby being a place where everyone can find a home, afford a home and feel at home.”
After researching various options for closing Burnaby’s housing gap, City staff concluded that establishing a housing authority as a municipal corporation would best meet the goal of creating more units faster than current City partnerships. Key benefits of a municipal corporation are that it would allow the City to:
- own the Burnaby Housing Authority (BHA)
- access additional housing expertise, resources and innovation
- minimize and allocate risk
Municipalities can apply to the provincial government to establish municipal corporations to achieve public benefits like affordable housing. Municipal housing authorities exist elsewhere in BC, such as the Whistler Housing Authority, which aims to provide workforce housing, and the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation, which provides housing for diverse, mixed-income communities including families, seniors and people with disabilities.
As proposed, the BHA would focus on 4 main functions—acquiring land and units, developing new units, operating near-market and market units, and administering non-market units. The aim of the BHA would be to create new housing through collaboration—not competition—with other levels of government, the community housing sector and the development industry.
Learn More: Burnaby.ca/housingauthority
For more information contact:
Chris Bryan
Manager, Public Affairs
Public Affairs Office
604-570-3616 | [email protected]