The Moderate Income Rental Housing Pilot Program encourages development proposals for new buildings where:
- 100% of the residential floor area is secured rental housing
- At least 20% of the residential floor area is made available to moderate income households earning $30,000 to $80,000 per year
How the program works
The pilot program will select up to 20 proposals for submission of rezoning applications between January 1, 2018 and July 1, 2019. All applications will proceed through a full rezoning process, including public hearing.
Eligible City incentives for Moderate Income Rental Housing projects include:
- Additional height and density beyond what is available under existing zoning
- Development Cost Levy (DCL) waiver
- Parking requirement reductions
- Relaxation of minimum unit size and configuration requirements
- Expedited processing
How the program creates affordable rentals
The incentives for this program are designed to encourage delivery of rental buildings where at least 20% of the residential floor area is made available to moderate income households.
Targeted rents in Moderate Income Rental units
| Housing unit |
Monthly rent |
| Studio |
$950 |
| 1 bedroom |
$1,200 |
| 2 bedroom |
$1,600 |
| 3 bedroom |
$2,000 |
Each project owner or their designated property manager will administer the moderate income rental units, including tenant qualification and waitlisting.
Rent increases in the moderate income units will be capped according to the BC Residential Tenancy Act annual allowable increase, regardless of unit turnover.
Tenant eligibility for moderate income rental units will be verified by the building’s management at initial occupancy and on an ongoing basis.
- For new tenants, household income cannot exceed 4 times the annual rent for the unit (at least 25% of income is spent on rent).
- For existing tenants, household income cannot exceed 5 times the annual rent for the unit (at least 20% of income is spent on rent).
- If an existing tenant no longer qualifies for their moderate income rental unit, the operator will issue a six-month notice to end tenancy, in accordance with the BC Residential Tenancy Act.
Learn more about the program
Apply to create rental housing through the program
The program is currently full. However, to enable the opportunity to consider the strongest proposals possible should capacity become available, a very limited opportunity to submit new pre-enquiry applications will be open between January 14 and February 1, 2019.
New pre-enquiry applications should include additional supporting materials (ie. drawings and plans) that demonstrate readiness to proceed with a formal application for rezoning advice (a rezoning enquiry). Applicants are encouraged to refer to the Rezoning Enquiry Checklist 
(149 KB)
Along with a completed pre-enquiry application form, submissions should include, at minimum:
- Dimensioned plans
- Sections and elevations
- Context plans
- Site plans
- Schematic massings
Only substantially complete submissions will be considered.
Applicants are reminded that further invitations to proceed under the pilot cannot be guaranteed, and will be contingent on program capacity, timing, and the strength, suitability, and comprehensiveness of each proposal in regard to key policy objectives and relative to other proposals received.
Submission Deadline: 5:00pm PST on Friday, February 1, 2019.
Pre-enquiry application form (436 KB)
