THE BC Liberals on Wednesday said that as B.C. strata councils grapple with the chaos created by Premier David Eby’s botched strata legislation, Eby has recently called a loophole limiting housing options for young people and families “good news.”
“Despite Eby’s claims he will create more homes for British Columbians, the Premier has changed his story at the first sign of pushback against his poorly thought-out changes,” said Karin Kirkpatrick, BC Liberal Critic for Housing. “When Eby forced through his changes to strata legislation last November, he celebrated that the removal of most age restrictions would help people of all ages find affordable homes. However, as Eby’s botched legislation is forcing a wave of stratas to utilize a loophole to adopt a 55+ restriction, Eby is now claiming this is what he had in mind all along — despite its potential negative implications for housing supply in B.C.”
The BC Liberals said that during a recent interview about strata councils moving to adopt 55+ age restrictions, Eby said, “it’s not really a loophole,” and that the expanded use of age restrictions is “actually good news.” Eby further misleadingly stated that this loophole was always the intention of the policy change, which contradicts comments from Eby and then-housing minister Murray Rankin when the legislation was first introduced.
“The NDP claimed that discriminating against young people and families in the housing market is no longer acceptable, but now they’ve gone and made the situation worse through their rushed Strata Act changes,” said Kirkpatrick. “Our BC Liberal Caucus raised concerns about the unintended consequences of this legislation back in November, but we were repeatedly dismissed by the NDP who were more concerned with shutting down debate than ensuring the changes help generate more housing supply.”
She added: “Instead of creating chaos for strata councils, Eby should have paused his strata changes for broader consultation. But now, with his sloppy legislation and recent contradictions, Eby has alienated both strata councils frustrated with the changes and young people and families desperate to find homes they can afford.”
