BC Real Estate Association Calls on the Next Government of Canada to Lower Development Charges and Fund Municipal Infrastructure
To help address the urgent need for a significant increase in housing supply across Canada, the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) is urging the next Government of Canada to repurpose the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to offset municipal development cost charges (DCCs) and amenity cost charges (ACCs), the Association announced today. This approach could help reduce financial barriers that are slowing down housing development and ensure that more Canadians can access affordable homes.
Housing is a key issue in the 2025 Federal Election.
The federal government originally created the HAF to help municipalities boost the housing supply while fostering affordable, diverse, and climate-resilient communities. However, the implementation of the program has lacked adequate structure and clear guidance on how the funds should be used to effectively achieve these goals. As a result, its potential has not been fully realized. Meanwhile, many development projects have been stalled due to rapidly increasing DCCs and ACCs as municipalities struggle to fund the infrastructure needed to support growth.
“The prevailing philosophy of ‘growth pays for growth’ is simply not working,” explained Trevor Hargreaves, BCREA Senior VP of Policy Research and Government Relations, in a statement released on April 14, 2025. “We urgently need more housing across the country, but increasing building costs and rising DCC and ACC fees have made it difficult for the development sector to remain profitable. Ultimately, the homebuyer bears the financial burden, as these costs are passed along to them.”
This challenge is particularly evident in many Canadian cities, where the rising cost of development has made numerous projects financially unfeasible. This has led to widespread cancellations or delays in critical housing developments. For projects that do go ahead, the increased costs are often transferred directly to the purchaser, further driving up housing prices and exacerbating the affordability crisis.
While the creation of the HAF represents a positive step in supporting municipalities, BCREA believes that its funds could be more effectively utilized by directly addressing the growing burden of DCCs and ACCs. The Association is recommending that the federal government expand and reorient the HAF to prioritize financing municipal infrastructure in communities that demonstrate a proactive approach to increasing the housing supply. By focusing on reducing these specific financial barriers, the HAF could significantly accelerate housing development and address affordability challenges.
Additionally, BCREA is advocating for increased flexibility in how and when DCC payments are collected. Allowing these charges to be collected at the end of a project, rather than at the beginning, could ease upfront financial constraints on housing developers, encouraging more projects to move forward. In such cases, HAF funding could also be used to help cover these costs temporarily, ensuring that development timelines are not delayed.
By taking these steps, the federal government could make meaningful progress in addressing Canada’s housing crisis. A restructured and better-targeted HAF could empower municipalities to expand their housing supply without placing undue financial strain on developers or homebuyers, ultimately helping to create more affordable, accessible, and sustainable communities nationwide.
You can learn more about CREA’s 2025 election toolkit here.
For more information:
Craig Battle, Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist
British Columbia Real Estate Association
6047422790
cbattle@bcrea.bc.ca
