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Housing Development

Regional Housing Fund (RHF)

Description

The RHF is available to non-profit organizations including registered charities and for-profit organizations who intend to develop permanent affordable rental housing.

The RHF is intended to assist qualified proponents in developing permanent affordable rental housing by providing funds to conduct pre-development work required to obtain project development approvals and funding.

 

Eligible Activities

Include but are not limited to:

  • Professional appraisals

  • Site surveys

  • Environmental and Geotechnical Soils Reports

  • Local government fees and costs for rezoning, development, and building permits/agreements

  • Preliminary architectural design costs and fees to obtain rezoning, development and building permits

  • Preliminary construction management service costs and fees

  • Preliminary legal and accounting costs to obtain rezoning, development, and building permits

 

Criteria for Affordable Rental Housing

Rents can be a combination of rent geared to income, below market rent, subsidized rent and market rent with no more than 30% of the units at market rent based on the CMHC Average Market Rent for the Cowichan Valley.

Rents geared to income will be based on 30% of gross household income for at least 50% of the planned units.

Rents geared to income for below market and subsidized rent will be based on the BC Housing Deep Subsidy Income Limits for the Cowichan Valley.

Ineligible Activities

Construction, demolitions, renovations, or repairs to an existing residential building.
 

Eligibility

The RHF is available to non-profit organizations including registered charities and for-profit organizations who intend to develop permanent affordable rental housing.

Application Process:

  • The proponent provides a Letter of Intent (LOI) to CHA Executive Director.

  • The LOI will include:

    1. summary of the proposed permanent affordable rental housing development,

    2. number and size of units being contemplated,

    3. potential impact of the development to address regional and local housing needs,

    4. proponent experience in developing similar projects,

    5. proposed development financing sources and amounts, and

    6. details of development land ownership.

  • CHA Executive Director reviews the completed LOI and determines if the proponent will be offered the opportunity to proceed with a full application proposal.

  • Successful proponent will provide a completed RHF application proposal to CHA Executive Director which must demonstrate:

  1. The proponent is in good standing and has a strong track record addressing community needs.

  2. The proponent must demonstrate functional capacity to deliver the development for which funding is sought.

  3. The proposed development is more than five units.

  4. Proponents with other funding sources (internal or in-kind contributions, CMHC seed funding, BC Housing pre-development funding, etc.) will be regarded positively.

  • CHA Executive Director presents the completed RHF application proposal to the CHA Executive Committee who will: (a) approve the proponent application proposal; (b) request further information from the proponent; or (c) deny the proponent. 

  • If approved, CHA Executive Director will present a proposal to the CVRD Board for approval of funds disbursement. 

 

Distribution

Funding will be distributed based on submission of invoices.

 

Reporting Requirements

Projects will be required to submit quarterly Project Progress Report and a Final Report.

 

Available Project Funding

Proponents are encouraged to apply based on actual need up to a maximum of 5% of the overall capital budget of the proposed development.

Emergency Contingency Fund (ECF)

Description

Housing emergencies may arise due to an influx of demand (severe weather requiring additional people to be housed, sudden evictions) or a sudden loss of supply (loss of housing due to fire, floods, etc.). While emergency funding is available at the provincial level and through the Red Cross, these funds are often not as readily available or sufficient to meet the need.

 

The ECF is intended to bridge the funding gap between federal, provincial, and local housing emergency programming.

CHA works with local government to determine when and where funds are distributed. These funds are available until they have been exhausted.

We acknowledge that we work within the traditional unceded territories of the Quw’utsun, Malahat, Ts’uubaa-asatx, Halalt, Penelakut, Stz’uminus, Lyackson, Pauquachin, Ditidaht, and Pacheedaht Peoples. They have been custodians of the land since time immemorial. We would like to pay our respect to the Elders and knowledge keepers, both past and present. We are grateful to live and work on these territories. We also affirm that colonialism, and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it, contributes to the continued systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples.

If you would like to learn more about Indigenous territories, languages, arts, and heritage, visit: https://maps.fpcc.ca/languages

© 2023 Cowichan Housing Association

We are grateful to the following organizations for their ongoing support: 

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