The BC Conservatives are pushing back against a plan announced by the provincial and federal governments to buy 2,200 condos and convert them into affordable housing units.
Critics say on Monday that the action is “wasting” taxpayer money and appears to be financial aid to developers of vacant housing units.
“Their plan involves spending millions of dollars bailing out developers after a risky investment and will not meaningfully address the housing crisis,” said MLA Linda Hepner, the Conservative critic for housing.
She argues that developers have no incentive to lower prices if they know that the government will bail them out if their condos sit vacant long enough.
“I think one of the things that they could have done is remove some of the onerous policy decisions that have been made by government, not the least of which is the in-perpetuity property purchase tax,” Hepner told 1130 NewsRadio.
“Just removing that would help people get into those places and let them get started.”
She says that if both levels of government want to solve the housing crisis, they should let the “market forces” take care of it.
“Where can we remove some of those barriers to construction costs so that people can afford to get in and they don’t have to put up with the kinds of onerous pricing that we now see?”
Hepner adds that the government is moving away from homeownership options by buying condos which are under 500 square feet and could only fit a single person.
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The Conservatives accuse the NDP government of having created a “hostile” environment for the housing industry.
“High taxes, excessive regulations, and legal uncertainty from a government that keeps getting in the way of the economy makes it extremely difficult to build or produce anything,” said Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the party’s leader in a written statement.
In a joint press release on Friday, the province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Office of the Prime Minister announced a $5 billion investment in B.C.’s local infrastructure over the next 10 years.
The province and the feds claim that their plan “is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to increase housing supply.”
Neither Ottawa nor Victoria disclosed how high the price tag is for the 2,200 condos.
The investment plan also includes modernizing health infrastructure, wastewater systems, and local roads.
– With files from Ben Bouguerra.