Rural Housing Program FAQ

The CRD’s Rural Housing Program is a Pilot Project for the Southern Gulf Islands (SGI) and Salt Spring Island (SSI) Electoral Areas (EAs) 2025 - 2026. The program offers support for community solutions within the rural context of the islands and allows the CRD to test approaches for addressing the housing crisis in its smaller communities, outside of the urban containment boundary. Depending on outcomes, the program could be implemented across the region’s other rural communities in the future.

The Capital Regional District is prioritizing increasing the supply of affordable housing throughout the region. The RHP pilot aims to provide housing solutions that are appropriate for its rural communities, outside of the urban core. The RHP also addresses requests from the Southern Gulf Islands Community Economic Sustainability Commission(External link) (SGI CESC) and the SSI Local Community Commission(External link) (SSI LCC) for the CRD to support economic sustainability by addressing local housing needs.

Like elsewhere, rural communities in the CRD struggle with a lack of housing options. In the islands, the housing crisis is exacerbated by environmental limits, servicing constraints, a complex regulatory environment, higher building costs, and a lack of funding for small scale housing projects. Solutions to the housing crisis in small communities may look different as they cannot rely on a model of density increases at the scale of more urban, purpose-built, multi-unit affordable housing projects.

Community Engagement was conducted in 2024 by way of an online survey, polls, workshops, presentations, and delegations. Background and information can be found on this project page.

 As part of this engagement, an anonymous survey was conducted between September 16 and December 16 2024, for property owners in the SGI and SSI Electoral Areas, including those who expect to own property within those areas in the next 6-18 months. The goal of the survey was to better understand landowners’ interest and capacity for building secondary suites and their compatibility with eligibility criteria.

While the engagement site was active, it had over 3,600 visitors. Two hundred seventy-four people responded to the polls, and 573 property owners responded to the survey. The engagement tools were promoted using social media, posters, and articles in community newspapers.

The Rural Housing Program Pilot proposal was presented for discussion at 11 local meetings and workshops, online and in person across the five islands of the Pilot Area.  

The key takeaway from the engagement process is that there is a high level of interest in the Rural Housing Program pilot project, which will support housing solutions in rural island communities. The non-profit housing sector in the island communities have a high need for capital funding, and a CRD pre-development funding program will support project success. Despite some challenges with zoning and the building permit process, and concerns about privacy and the responsibility of being a landlord, there appears to be appetite for the Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program by property owners who live year-round on the islands. 

The Rural Housing Program (RHP) is prototyping various housing solutions that are better suited to the rural context and enable CRD responsiveness to the housing crisis across the capital region. The pilot program has three streams:

Provides eligible homeowners with 50% of the cost to build an ADU, up to a maximum of $40,000 - in exchange for commitments to non-market rents for five years. An ADU includes a secondary suite or cottage as defined in each island’s land use bylaw and as permitted by Islands Trust zoning.

2. Rural Housing Pre-Development Funding (RHPDF):

Provides for purpose built, multi-unit affordable housing to offset the costs of technical reports & on-site infrastructure.

3. Coordination:

Inter-agency coordination and support to non-profit housing providers - A key component of the RHP pilot project is the establishment of a dedicated program coordinator within the CRD to support rural housing for the duration of the two-year pilot program. Once hired, the RHP coordinator will help administer pilot project funding and offer support for non-profit housing proponents.

In addition to the Rural Housing Program's pilot project, the CRD collaborates with the SGI Community Resource Centre(External link) to support the Housing Now(External link) program. This initiative, funded by the Salt Spring Island Local Community Commission, the Southern Gulf Islands Community Economic Sustainability Commission, and the Southern Gulf Islands Tourism Partnership, aims to match renters with various types of long-term housing options available from residents of the islands.

The coordination on SSI and SGI is partially funded by the SGI Tourism Partnership(External link) (SGITP), which receives funding from the province through the Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) of 2%, applied to sales of short-term accommodation within Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands. This financial support allows the CRD to employ dedicated staff to manage the program, seek out further partnerships, and provide strategic advice to help project proponents with the complex regulatory environment.

Funding is being used to: 

• Provide financial assistance for homeowners to build secondary suites and cottages in exchange for commitments to affordable rents for a period of time;
• Invest pre-development and infrastructure funding in affordable housing projects;
• Support inter-agency coordination and provide additional capacity and guidance to non-profit housing providers.

Please subscribe to the Rural Housing Program to receive updates as the project progresses.