The City of Victoria is committed to ensuring its residents have access to safe, stable and affordable housing as well as essential supports that promote health and wellbeing.
While funding solutions to homelessness is the direct responsibility of the provincial and federal governments, the City recognizes that community wellbeing requires collaboration among municipal agencies, non-profits, businesses, First Nations, residents and senior levels of government to address homelessness and housing availability.
Homelessness continues to be one of most pressing social challenges in Victoria. While the City does not have the mandate or funding responsibility for housing, it plays an important role in supporting local coordination, amplifying community voices and fostering partnerships.
In 2025, a Point-in-Time count estimated there were at least 1,749 people experiencing homelessness across the Capital Region on a single night.
City's Role
The City works with BC Housing, Island Health, community agencies and other orders of government in a supporting role to align efforts, improve coordination and reduce service gaps. As of January 2026, Victoria has the region’s highest capacity of shelter spaces (89 per cent) and supportive or transitional housing units (83 per cent).
The City also contributes through:
- Land use policies and zoning: Creating policies and regulations that enable affordable and supportive housing development.
- Affordable housing strategies: Taking a leadership role to make housing more affordable, accessible and attainable.
- Coordination and support: Providing funding or in-kind support to provincial agencies and community organizations that work on homelessness prevention, shelter and housing solutions, and the direct delivery of services to unhoused individuals.
- Public space stewardship: Balancing the needs of all community members, including unhoused individuals, to maintain and clean public spaces like parks, streets and plazas with broader community safety and wellbeing objectives.
City Initiatives
The City is undertaking several initiatives to help address homelessness:
- Community Safety and Wellbeing (CSWB) Plan: Adopted by Council in July 2025, the City committed $10.35 million in existing funds to implement initial actions focused on priority areas. Actions include City funding and support for community service providers to better meet the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness as well as expanding sheltering and housing solutions. Council continues to determine community safety and wellbeing funding as part of its annual budget deliberations.
- Victoria Housing Strategy: This strategy defines the City’s role in the provision of affordable housing. The City continues to support the development of affordable non-market housing through programs, policies and partnerships through its housing initiatives.
- Tenant Protection Bylaw: This bylaw supports tenants living in homes that will be displaced due to redevelopment and complements existing regulations in the provincial Residential Tenancy Act.
- Greater Victoria Rent Bank: The City provides annual funding to help support the Greater Victoria Rent Bank, which is run by the Community Social Planning Council. The Rent Bank provides financial assistance through no-interest repayable loans to households at risk of eviction for reasons such as non-payment of rent or essential utilities. The loan can also be used as a damage deposit or first month’s rent to move to safe and sustainable housing.
- Regional Partnerships: Through programs like Reaching Home and the Regional Housing First Program, the City collaborates with the Capital Regional District and other governments to deliver housing solutions on southern Vancouver Island.