In April 2019, the Local Government Act (LGA) was amended to require all local governments to develop a Housing Needs Report (HNR) by April 2022, and update it every five years thereafter. According to the Government of British Columbia, Housing Needs Reports are required to help communities better understand their current and future housing needs. These reports help identify existing and projected gaps in housing supply by collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative information about local demographics, household incomes, housing stock and other factors.
Pursuant with the legislation, the City’s HNR was presented to Council in April 2022, and was received in accordance with the LGA. The 2022 HNR estimates the City’s five-year housing need overall and includes data on housing types, need categories and unit features.
In 2023, the Province gave Royal Assent to Bill 44 Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, and subsequently amended Housing Needs Report Regulation 90/2019. The changes require municipalities and regional districts to prepare an Interim Housing Needs Report (IHNR) by January 1, 2025, using the Province’s prescribed HNR Method for estimating both five-year and 20-year housing need in the community.
Housing Needs Report 2022
In 2022, the City prepared a HNR that was intended to create a better understanding of the current and future housing needs in the City of Pitt Meadows.
The HNR informed about current and anticipated housing needs across the housing continuum (depicted in the below image), from emergency shelters to market rental and home ownership. This understanding supports the City as we develop and update plans, guidelines and policies, and make informed decisions about existing and future development in Pitt Meadows.
The 2022 HNR was presented to Council on April 27, 2022
Housing Continuum, adapted from CMHC Housing Continuum
Interim Housing Needs Report 2024
On November 5, 2024, staff presented an Interim Housing Needs Report (IHNR) to Council, as required by the Provincial Housing Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 44). Section 585 of the Local Government Act, requires that the IHNR is to be completed using a new, prescribed Provincial HNR Method for estimating the City’s housing needs over five-year and 20-year timeframes. Learn more.
IHNRs are to include three new items:
- The number of housing units required to meet current and anticipated need for the next five and 20 year timeframes;
- A statement about the need for housing in close proximity to transportation infrastructure that supports walking, bicycling, public transit or other alternative forms of transportation; and
- A description of the actions taken by the local government, since receiving the most recent HNR, to reduce housing needs.
Municipalities have the option of completing a new HNR, or attaching the legislated required information to the City’s current HNR. Given the newness of the City’s current HNR (2022), the IHNR has been inserted as an addendum into that document.
The Provincial HNR Method consists of six components, which are added together to provide the total number of housing units needed in the City of Pitt Meadows. Table 13 below, in the IHNR, is the total five-year and 20-year new unit need for the City.
2022 and Interim Housing Needs Report
For more details on the IHNR and 2022 HNR, read the full report.