This morning (April 24), B.C.’s minister of municipal affairs and housing tabled legislation that could give cities a new tool to generate additional rental housing across the province.

If approved, the proposed legislation would allow municipal governments to create rental-only areas via a new class of zoning bylaw.

“Undeveloped land that is zoned for rental would need to be developed with rental projects,” a media release explains. “The amount of rental housing that needs to be developed on that land will be at the discretion of the local government.”

That means municipalities could require that an entire building only consists of long-term rentals. They could also dictate specific a percentage of a given development that would have to serve as rental-only units.

B.C.’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, Selina Robinson, is quoted in the government’s release describing the proposal as a reaction to a shortage of rental housing.

"Local governments are on the front lines of the housing crisis, so they're well positioned to guide the right types of housing to meet the needs of their residents," she said.

“The steps we are taking today will both help local governments track the needs of their communities, and give them a powerful tool to deliver homes people can afford in the communities where they work, go to school and raise their families” Robinson continued.

The proposal would involve the legislature agreeing on changes to the B.C. Local Government Act and the Vancouver Charter.

In October 2017, the Straight reported that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment listing in Vancouver has hit $2,000 a month.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in 2016, Metro Vancouver's vacancy rate for purpose-built rental housing was just 0.7 percent.