Housing Needs Reports

Municipalities and regional districts are required to complete Interim Housing Needs Reports (HNR) by January 1, 2025, using the new standardized HNR Method. The first “regular” Housing Needs Reports must then be completed by December 31, 2028, and every five years thereafter. These changes will help local governments and the B.C. government better understand and respond to housing needs in communities throughout B.C.

An overview of Housing Need Reports

The first legislative requirements for Housing Needs Reports were established in 2019, and required local governments to collect data, analyze trends and present reports that describe current and anticipated housing needs in B.C. communities.

Housing Needs Reports 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. A Housing Needs Report is critical to developing a housing strategy or action plan and informing land use planning.

As a result of the 2023 amendments to the Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter, changes were made to the timing and requirements for Housing Needs Reports. Municipalities and regional districts must now prepare Interim Housing Needs Reports by January 1, 2025, using the HNR Method to identify the 5- and 20-year housing need in their communities. Municipalities (but not regional districts) must then update their official community plans and zoning bylaws by December 31, 2025, to accommodate the number of units identified. The first regular Housing Needs Reports are required to be completed by December 31, 2028, and every five years thereafter.

Detailed data collection, report content and public reporting requirements are summarized in the Summary of Legislative and Regulatory Requirements for Housing Needs Reports (PDF, 159KB).

 

Interim Housing Needs Reports

All local governments are required to complete an Interim Housing Needs Report by January 1, 2025. The Interim Housing Needs Report must only include three new, additional items:

• The number of housing units required to meet current and anticipated need for the next 5 and 20 years, as calculated using the HNR Method provided in the Regulation;
• 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 Housing Needs Report, to reduce housing needs.

Local governments may fulfill this requirement by updating their most recent Housing Needs Report to include these three items, or by completing an entirely new Housing Needs Report.

The HNR Method

The HNR Method is the methodology that local governments will use to calculate the total number of housing units their communities will need for over 5 and 20 years.

The HNR Method consists of six components, which are added together to provide the total number of housing units needed in a municipality or regional district electoral area. The six components include:

1. Supply of units to reduce extreme core housing need (those paying more than 50% of income for housing);
2. Supply of units to reduce homelessness;
3. Supply of units to address suppressed household formation;
4. Supply of units needed to meet household growth over the next 5 or 20 years;
5. Supply of units needed to meet at least a 3% vacancy rate; and,
6. Supply of units needed to meet local demand. This component is only included for municipalities.

The HNR Method can be applied using Excel or by using the HNR Calculator, an online tool developed by UBC’s Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) (available starting mid-July 2024).

HNR Calculator and HNR Method Technical Guidelines

To support local governments in applying the HNR Method, UBC’s Housing Assessment Resource Tools (HART) is developing the HNR Calculator. The calculator, which is being developed according to the HNR Method, will automatically pull in relevant data for each component of the HNR Method, showing users each step to calculate the total number of housing units needed over 5 and 20 years. 

The HNR Calculator is designed to be user-friendly and efficient; UBC plans to make the calculator available in July 2024. Written guidance from the Province on the new HNR requirements is posted here.

For local governments who prefer to work through the HNR Method independently, the HNR Method Technical Guidelines provide comprehensive support for local governments wishing to calculate their 5- and 20-year housing numbers using Excel instead of the HNR Calculator.

Regular Housing Needs Reports

The first regular Housing Needs Reports must be completed and received by December 31, 2028. All Housing Needs Reports are required to contain the following, based on an analysis of the information collected:

• The number of housing units needed over the next 5- and 20-year period as calculated using the HNR Method, a standardized methodology;
• Statements about seven key areas of local need, including affordable housing, rental housing, special needs housing, seniors housing, family housing, housing in proximity to transit, and shelters and housing for people at risk of homelessness;
• The number and percentage of households in core housing need and extreme core housing need.
• A description of the actions taken by the local government to address housing need since the last Housing Needs Report; and
• The change, if any, in the number of housing units needed since the Last Housing Needs Report.

Regional districts must include this required content for each electoral area.

Public Reporting Requirements

When a Housing Needs Report, including the Interim Housing Needs Report, is complete, a local government is required to:

• Receive the report at a council or board meeting that is open to the public; and
• Publish the report on an internet site that is publicly and freely accessible.

Public reporting means that the public, First Nations, and stakeholders such as non-profit organizations, private developers, and other government agencies will have access to better information when making housing investment decisions.

Relationship to Official Community Plans and Regional Growth Strategies

Municipalities are required to review and update their official community plans and zoning bylaws by December 31, 2025, following the Interim Housing Needs Report, and then by December 31, 2028, within two years following the completion of the first regular Housing Needs Report. This ensures that the statements, maps, and land use designations permit the number of housing units needed over the next 20 years. This requirement does not apply to regional districts.

A local government is also required to consider its most recent Housing Needs Report, and the housing information on which it is based, when:

• Developing an official community plan or regional growth strategy
• Amending an official community plan in relation to housing statements, map designations or policies
• Amending a regional growth strategy in relation to proposed housing actions, and
• Considering every five years whether a regional growth strategy must be reviewed

This will ensure that any updates to an official community plan or regional growth strategy are informed by the latest available housing needs information.​

Jointly Prepared Housing Needs Reports

Partnerships between two or more local governments to undertake this work could offer potential benefits and efficiencies. A regional district could also consider coordinating the collection and reporting of housing needs information on behalf of their members, as long as required community-specific information and reporting is provided for each individual electoral area and participating municipality.

Legislative authority

The requirements related to housing needs reports are detailed in legislation and associated regulations:

• Bill 44 – 2023: Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act, 2023

Local Government Act

• Section 429 (2.1) – Content of regional growth strategy
• Section 473 (2.1) – Official community plan content and process requirements
• Part 14, Division 22 – Housing needs reports
• Housing Needs Report Regulation (OIC, Order-in-Council 205)
• Order-in-Council 353

Vancouver Charter

• Section 561 (3.1) – Development plans
• Part 27, Division 6 – Housing needs reports
• Vancouver Housing Needs Report Regulation (OIC, Order-in-Council 206)
• Order-in-Council 353