Innovation led by business the key to better living

The Secondary Suites Incentive Program, introduced to all BC municipalities last fall, is being expanded to 16 regional districts, including the Capital Regional District.

“We’re using innovative solutions to make it easier for homeowners and communities to build homes faster, so people can live and work in the communities they love,” BC Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said in a news release.

The three-year pilot SSIP will provide about 3,000 homeowners with forgivable loans for as much as $40,000 to create a new secondary suite or an accessory dwelling unit on their property. To qualify, the units must be rented below market rates for at least five years.

In a separate news release, Kahlon also announced that the province issued a request for proposals that could lead to BC adopting an innovative housing solution used in places such as Seattle and New York City.

A common practice in Europe, the solution involves allowing single staircases in residential buildings by updating an 80-year-old rule in BC’s building code that currently requires two stairwells. The change would allow for larger apartments with more daylight, cross breezes and greenspaces.

“The Chamber encourages all levels of government to embrace innovations that allow builders to provide the housing supply we need,” Chamber CEO Bruce Williams said. “Looking at how other places in the world have solved the same issue we face makes sense.”