Housing is the largest cost for many families. According to the Canadian Rental Housing Index, nearly one in five tenant households in Greater Vancouver spends more than half of their income on housing and utilities. As of August 2024, sources such as Rentals.ca place the cost of renting a two-bedroom unit in Vancouver at $3,666 per month. Young families are priced out of the Lower Mainland and, increasingly, others are underhoused or unhoused. Living close to our community infrastructure is important to B.C.’s Jewish community to ensure their access to kosher food, community, and – for many – being able to walk to synagogue on Shabbat.
Our partner, Tikva Housing Society, provides housing to more than 300 people, subsidizing $1.38 million in rents per year to low- to middle-income workers, seniors, and Holocaust Survivors. However, more work needs to be done. Our community’s Jewish Housing Registry has more than 330 people on its waitlist.
We ask the B.C. Government to:
Exempt non-profit housing societies permanently from the obligation to pay the Property Transfer Tax.
Work with municipalities to adopt B.C. Housing’s Housing Income Limits (HILs) for units where a tenant’s rent is based on housing income limits. Adopting a transparent standard for determining affordability would facilitate affordable housing not-for-profit organizations’ navigation of municipal regulations and their provision of housing across B.C.’s most expensive regions.
Work with housing providers to deliver affordable housing solutions that accommodate ethnocultural communities, families, seniors, single parents, persons with disabilities, and those with complex care needs.