Photo: KTW file photo

Homebuilding in the Tournament Capital is way behind pace of the community's need, according to a new City of Kamloops report to the province.

The report also shows a large amount of the new homes built in Kamloops over the next 20 years will need to be rentals or sold at below market value to meet the city's need.

A summary of the city's 2024 housing needs report, which is an update to the 2020 edition, was presented to council on Tuesday by City of Kamloops community planning manager Stephen Bentley.

The report estimates that 7,856 total new housing units would need to be built in Kamloops between 2021 and 2026, and 23,228 new units are required by 2041.

Bentley told Castanet Kamloops that only about 2,000 new housing units have been built in Kamloops since 2021. But he said he doesn't think it's an attainable target.

“Realistically, I don't think that the market will supply those,” he said.

Bentley said the city cannot force builders to build, but it can do it’s best to create a supportive environment for them.

The province’s housing needs report projects the five and 20-year housing needs of cities from the latest census. The report uses data from BC Stats and Statistics Canada that’s pegged Kamloops’ population between 97,000 and 101,000 during the last census in 2021. The population is projected to be more than 140,000 by 2044.

According to the report, over the next 20 years 1,808 to 2,962 of new homes built will need to be non-market housing units to meet the needs of households in very low and low-income categories.

It also states that, over the next 20 years, it is anticipated 2,896 to 4,648 additional rental housing units will be needed in the city.

Bentley said the report shows a “big need” for a variety of housing types in Kamloops.

“I think one thing is we're seeing a shift in housing,” he said.

“We're moving away from everybody owns their house or a single family house. As meeting these future housing needs, it’s not necessarily going to be in the way it historically was.”

Diverse housing needs

The report touches on seven areas of housing needs — affordable housing, rental housing, special needs, seniors housing, family housing, and housing in proximity to alternative transportation modes.

The 20-year need for housing for senior-led households aged 65 and over is anticipated to be 4,089 units, while the five-year need for housing units to reduce homelessness is 391, and 782 units for the the 20-year need to 2041.

Over the next 20 years, approximately 1,730 more households would benefit from housing with supports for people with physical disabilities, up to 279 units will be needed for people with severe mental illness and addictions, and up to 98 units will be needed for adults with intellectual disabilities, according to the report.

According to the report, 61 per cent of the rental market in Kamloops is part of the secondary rental market — units not initially built to be rented. It also says the total share of renter households has been slowly increasing in Kamloops, moving just three per cent over the last 15 years from 26.6 per cent in 2006 to 29.9 per cent in 2021.

Under affordable housing, the report states that 3,800 households in Kamloops spend more than 30 per cent of their pre-tax income on the median rent for alternative housing, while another 1,440 households are spending more than 50 per cent of before-tax income on housing.

Coun. Nancy Bepple noted some good news from the report in this area, pointing out those numbers have been on the decline since 2016.

Starting in April 2019, provincial legislation required local governments to develop housing needs reports regularly. The report’s purpose is to strengthen local governments’ ability to understand what types of housing are most needed in their communities and to help inform local plans, policies, and development decisions.

The housing needs report was prepared for the city by ISL Engineering and Land Services and funded entirely from a provincial housing grant.

The report is now available on the City of Kamloops’ website.