Affordable Housing Actions

The City is taking a leadership role to make housing more affordable, accessible and attainable for people in the city. Affordable housing priorities are outlined in the City's Housing Strategy.

Fast Track for Affordable Housing

Fast Track for Affordable Housing aims to accelerate the delivery of new non-market affordable rental and non-profit cooperative housing projects. The streamlined regulatory pathway reduces development approval times and increases allowable residential densities - helping to advance the supply of housing that residents can afford.  Non-profit, government and cooperative housing projects looking to qualify for the fast-track process, need to meet the definition of Affordable Housing Development provided in the  Zoning Bylaw and Land Use Procedures Bylaw. Additional key qualifying criteria are outlined below.  

Part 1: Delegated Approvals Process

Development Permits, with or without variances, are delegated to staff if applications: 

  • secure affordability and rental tenure with a legal agreement. 
  • are consistent with Design Guidelines previously approved by  Council.  
  • proceed  to the Advisory Design Panel for additional design insight and feedback.   

Part 2: Increased Allowable Density

Projects can build up to the maximum density contemplated in the Official Community Plan (OCP) without  a rezoning  application or Council approval if:  

  • affordability and rental tenure are secured with a legal agreement. 
  • applications are consistent with Design Guidelines previously approved by Council.  
  • existing zoning allows for  the proposed residential use (e.g., multiple dwelling). 
  • projects do not exceed the maximum density in the Official Community Plan as outlined in  Schedule O of the Zoning Bylaw . 

In 2024, the process was renamed to the Fast Track for Affordable Housing. The process was previously named the Rapid Deployment of Affordable Housing. 

Inclusionary Housing Policy

The policy encourages the supply of new affordable housing through the creation of inclusionary housing units. These are on-site secured rental or homeownership units that meet the City’s housing affordability targets, as part of new multi-unit or mixed-use strata residential developments.

Read the Inclusionary Housing and Community Amenity Policy

The policy also seeks cash contributions from small and moderately sized projects to the Victoria Housing Reserve Fund. Part of these contributions are also set aside for local amenity reserve funds.

In 2023, the policy was updated following a comprehensive review to ensure alignment of the fixed rate (cash-in-lieu) contribution targets for typical applications in relation to current market conditions. 

Recent updates to the Inclusionary Housing and Community Amenity Policy include: 

  • Reduced the requirement for onsite inclusionary units to 10% and expanded options to provide cash-in-lieu 
  • Adjusted allocation of cash-in-lieu contributions so that 70% of contributions go towards community amenities and 30% of contributions are directed to the Housing Reserve Fund 
  • Removed the requirement for an economic analysis for purpose-built rental buildings, except in extenuating circumstances 

If you have questions about the above affordable housing policy tools, please contact housing@victoria.ca.

Tax Exemptions for Affordable Rental Housing 

The Affordable Rental Housing Revitalization Tax Exemption (RTE) Bylaw establishes a program to provide 10-year tax exemptions to support new non-market rental housing projects and encourage builders to include median-income rental units in new market rental projects.

Read the Affordable Rental Housing Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw

Under the RTE program, the City issues a property tax exemption for the increased property value resulting from the construction of the rental building. (Schedule A in the bylaw provides an example of the formula used to calculate the exemption). Non-residential portions of the rental building are excluded. The exemption certificate comes into effect after the occupancy permit is issued.

Eligibility

All new non-market and market rental development projects that have not received occupancy permits and have five or more units are eligible to apply. 

Program requirements are broken into two streams: 

  1. Non-Market Rental

    • The project is owned and operated by a non-profit housing provider  
    • Applicants enter into a legal agreement securing rental tenure and affordability (flexible based on project) for 60 years 
    • Offering the Right of First Refusal to tenants displaced by the redevelopment to the affordable units (in addition to the existing Tenant Assistance Plan)

  2. Market Rental: 

    • 10 per cent of the units must be secured at 95 per cent of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporations’ median market rent for the City of Victoria for 60 years 
    • Rental tenure of building secured in perpetuity 
    • Offering the Right of First Refusal to tenants displaced by the redevelopment to the affordable units (income tested)

Application:

Interested parties are encouraged to apply to the RTE program when submitting their rezoning or development permit applications in order to streamline the legal agreement process. However, applicants can still apply any time before receiving their occupancy permit. Applicants should indicate their interest in the RTE program to the development planner for their file and schedule a meeting to discuss their application.