Community Entities
Financial support for community entities is essential for nurturing thriving and resilient communities.
These organizations, spanning co-ops, First Nations, local governments, charitable organizations, non-profits, and others, serve as pillars of community development, providing essential services, advocating for residents, and addressing pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.
Sufficient financial support for these entities could lead to the expansion of affordable housing opportunities, the preservation of cultural heritage, investment in infrastructure, the provision of crucial assistance, and the advancement of causes that offer essential community support and services.
BC Builds
Who can apply?
- Local governments
- Non-profit organizations
- Indigenous groups
- For-profit developers
BC Builds can connect non-profit, First Nations, and private developers to available and zoned sites in the communities where you want to build and operate rental housing.
By connecting you with lands that are already zoned for housing, and by accelerating any remaining municipal and provincial approvals, we can help get you building and operating housing sooner.
For more detailed information, please visit the BC Builds Homes.
The BC Builds Homes project introduced in February 2024, focuses on:
- Creating affordable homes for middle-income residents like teachers and nurses.
- Utilizing government, community, and non-profit owned land.
- Offering low-cost financing and grants to reduce construction costs and speed up timelines.
- Emphasizing partnerships and leveraging underused public lands.
Streamlining development processes to facilitate quicker construction of rental housing. - Aiming to keep rents affordable for targeted income ranges.
Rental Protection Fund
What’s it for?
The Rental Protection Fund provides capital contributions to non-profit housing organizations to help them purchase existing, occupied, purpose-built rental buildings – and retain their affordability and stability over time.
Contributions from the Fund fill the equity gap to support these acquisitions, and support the capacity and growth of the non-profit housing sector throughout communities in B.C.
Who is eligible?
- Non-profit societies
- Housing Cooperatives
- Indigenous Housing Providers
- Charitable Organizations
What qualifies?
For the acquisition of buildings not individual units
For the acquisition of self-contained units and not SROs
For the acquisition of existing, occupied properties and not new development
Properties must be at risk of a significant rent increase or redevelopment
Properties should be freehold, and of a scale and geography that is operationally efficient and aligned with the capacity of the organization
Properties must not be currently owned by a government, federal, provincial or municipal entity
Not currently bound by Operating Agreements AND not reliant on Operating Subsidies/Agreements once acquired
Supporting Housing Security, meaning existing tenants cannot be displaced
Must have a minimum of 5 units, 4 in rural and remote municipalities
Buildings must be primarily residential. Permitted commercial uses can not exceed a maximum of 25% of the building’s total floor space.