Housing

The Township of Langley is one of the fastest growing communities in Metro Vancouver and current projections indicate that the Township’s population will almost double to 211,000 by 2041. This translates into a demand for over 34,000 new housing units – an average of about 1,300 per year. The Township’s Official Community Plan, which serves as a guide for growth, includes a goal to provide flexible, affordable, and mixed housing options for people of different abilities, incomes, and ages. The Township is currently preparing a Housing Needs Report to help better understand existing and projected gaps in housing supply.

Affordable Housing

Housing is considered affordable when households do not spend more than 30% of their before-tax income on housing costs. About 2 in 5 renter households and 1 in 5 owner households in the Township are paying 30% or more of their before-tax income on housing costs (per the 2016 Census). 

Township Action on Affordable Housing

As a local government, the Township has limited tools and resources to address housing affordability. Its main role is to ensure an adequate supply of residential land to meet housing demand through land use planning and regulatory processes.  Nevertheless, the Township is taking bold action to address housing affordability in the community through a variety of incentives for new affordable housing projects.

Plans and Strategies

Township action on affordable housing is guided primarily by its Housing Action Plan, which includes over 50 short, medium, and long-term actions that aim to encourage a diverse and affordable supply of housing in the Township of Langley.  Other key plans and strategies include:

• The Township’s Official Community Plan, which includes policies intended to encourage affordable housing
• The Township’s Age-friendly Strategy, which includes strategies to promote housing options that are appropriate, affordable, and accessible for older adults
• Metro Vancouver’s Regional Affordable Housing Strategy, which was endorsed by Township Council, as a collaborative approach to addressing regional housing needs. 

Benefits of Affordable Housing

Affordable housing choices promote complete, inclusive communities, and support the local workforce. When people are living in stable, affordable housing, they are more able to pursue other aspirations, like employment, education, and entertainment. 

Homelessness

206 people in the Langley area are homeless (per the 2017 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count). In 2018, Township Council approved the zoning for a new 49-unit supportive housing project called Creek Stone Place. This BC Housing-funded project will be operated by Stepping Stone Community Services Society, a local non-profit organization.

The Township also supports the Gateway of Hope in the City of Langley, which provides a number of services to the homeless and those at risk, including meal and support services and shelter.

Adaptable Housing

Adaptable homes have design features that facilitate easy retrofits to enable individuals with limited mobility, due to age or disability, to live in their homes with relative independence. The Township has required adaptable design features in many new housing developments for almost 10 years and, in 2016, updated its policy to require adaptable housing in a proportion of all new housing developments across the Township. Adaptable design features are now required in at least 5% of all new single family, rowhouse, and townhouse units and 10% of all new apartment units.