The rental housing in Metro Vancouver with an emphasis on public development of non-market stock. This is a response to the failure to build sufficient rental housing stock over the past couple of decades, amid a dominant mindset that sees private-sector property developers as the only builders of housing and home ownership as the preferred mode of accessing housing. Local governments in Metro Vancouver are starting to take a more planned approach toward approving new affordable housing, including financial incentives for developers to build rental housing instead of condos.

Ultimately, a stronger public presence is needed as developers are not going to build new housing stock that is truly affordable for low- to middle-income households, at least not anywhere near the scale needed. This is an invitation to the British Columbia and federal governments to up their housing game by supporting a major build-out of rental housing in Metro Vancouver. This brief considers how many units are needed and how much this program would cost. New investments from the BC government (33,700 units over 10 years promised in the 2018 BC provincial budget) and, to a lesser extent, funds from the federal government’s National Housing Strategy point to a modest revival of public housing investment, but these investments must be ramped up.1 This missing upfront capital is essential, as the stream of rental income from new housing eventually repays the initial investment.