Langley Township council voted June 12 to make new affordable housing units cheaper, and to ensure that they stay cheap for the life of the building with a new bylaw.
At the council’s Monday night meeting, they approved a new and updated bylaw that exempts affordable housing project from paying a number of development fees to the Township.
The changed bylaw also reduces the potential rent tenants of eligible projects would pay compared to the old model, and closes what Mayor Eric Woodward called a “loophole” in the old bylaw.
The Township’s previous rules, adopted in 2018 and revised the following year, did not specifically address the rental price of units, while the new bylaw sets stricter rules that builders must comply with to be eligible for the local government to waive development fees.
The maximum starting rent for below-market units will be limited to 10 per cent below the median rent for similarly-sized units in Langley, based on data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
At present, that would mean the maximum rent for a studio apartment built under the rules would be $740 a month, a one bedroom unit would be $1,178 a month, and a two-bedroom unit would be $1,610.
Previously, building operators had to stick to the below-market rentals for 20 years, but that will now be extended in perpetuity, a change Woodward referred to as closing a loophole.
If at least 30 per cent of units are below-market rents, and the building is operated on a not-for-profit basis, a builder can get a waiver and won’t have to pay any development cost charges (DCCs), a major savings for a construction project.
Buildings that have a mix of market rentals and below-market units may be eligible to see up to 50 per cent of their DCCs waived.
“I believe this is a pretty good step forward,” Woodward said just before council voted unanimously to approve the changes.
Although it wasn’t directly related to the change in the bylaw, Councillor Tim Baillie raised the issue of fast-rising rents and “renovictions,” where buildings are upgraded or demolished, leaving longtime tenants having trouble finding somewhere affordable to rent.
Under B.C. law, rental increases are limited while someone is living in a unit, but can be increased sharply when an old tenant leaves. Major building renovations can also allow landlords to apply to raise rents.
“Sometimes landlords become very creative, in ways to increase the rent,” Baillie said.
Under the previous versions of the bylaw, 303 units have received DCC waivers in Langley Township.
Many of the units have been built by churches, such as Jennie Gaglardi Place, which is being built by Christian Life Assembly in the 21200 block of 56th Avenue.
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