CLOSESince 2004, the City of Langford’s Affordable Housing Program has provided families with lower-income housing in Langford’s many new housing developments. Generated through Mayor and Council’s consultation with industry and stakeholders, Langford’s progressive – and successful – “inclusionary zoning requirement” program won the 2008 Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Housing Award. This Program currently includes 39 single-family dwellings and 8 multi-family condo units. These existing homes come up for resale periodically and the City maintains a waitlist of qualified buyers that wish to have the opportunity to purchase one of these homes. Local realtors provide services free of charge for the buyers and sellers, while credit unions, mortgage brokers and insurers (including CMHC) streamline mortgage pre-approvals for new buyers.
Council Policy was modified in 2012 to allow a choice between providing a $1,000 contribution for every single family equivalent dwelling unit created by rezoning to the City’s Affordable Housing Reserve Fund or constructing one new affordable home for every fifteen single-family lots subdivided. Council uses the contributions to the Affordable Housing Reserve Fund strategically to provide grants to new non-profit housing projects within the City. Council’s support to provide these grants and waive other financial charges such as application fees and development cost charges lowers the overall cost of the non-profit housing project and allows the housing provider in turn to lower the rents for their residents.
The City of Langford’s Planning Department is responsible for managing the Affordable Housing Program.
