2023 saw a spike in new purpose-built rental homes in B.C., according to stats released Thursday (Jan. 11) by the province.
New data from BC Housing shows the number of registered purpose-built rental homes in B.C. rose by almost 31 per cent compared to 2022.
Provincial authorities registered just over 19,000 rental homes in 2023, the highest annual total since BC Housing started collecting this data in 2002. Overall figures show 45,647 new registered homes in 2023, including 6,522 single-detached homes and 39,125 multi-unit homes.
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“Our government’s actions to tackle the housing crisis are starting to take hold as evidenced in the record-setting number of purpose-built homes registered in B.C. last year,” Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said in a statement. “When you compare that to the fewer than 2,000 rental units registered in 2012, it’s quite remarkable how the landscape has changed under our government.”
Under the Homeowner Protection Act, all new homes in the province are required to be registered with BC Housing before a building permit is issued.
Kahlon’s ministry released the figures Wednesday (Jan. 11) on the eve of Kahlon hosting a ‘fireside chat’ following 12 months of extensive policy action on the housing front.