The province is expected to step in after a B.C. Conservative slammed the governing party for allowing B.C. Housing to operate with a 15 per cent vacancy rate in Fort St John.
MLA Linda Hepner, who represents Surrey-Serpentine, released a statement calling on the governing New Democrats to intervene in B.C. Housing’s operations in Fort St John after a freedom of information request revealed a 15 per cent vacancy rate.
During the July 28 city council meeting, Fort St John city councillor Trevor Bolin introduced the topic and asked for his fellow councillors’ support in asking the organization for quarterly written updates and sending a letter to the Minister of Housing, Christine Boyle.
Hepner echoed Bolin’s call for intervention from the province, she called on the housing minister to respond to the vacancy rate and the lack of transparency in the Legislature.
“I was extremely surprised that we had to go the route of filing an FOI, it was unfortunate, however, it did give us the information where we were able to see that we’ve currently got a 15 per cent vacancy rate,” said Bolin.
B.C. Housing directly operates 164 rentable properties in the city, including Northern Health’s assisted living facility.
A spokesperson for the Crown Corporation clarified after last week’s city council meeting that 24 units are vacant, with eight accepting and reviewing applications.
“The other 16 are in various stages of repair and should be available to people throughout the fall,” B.C. Housing said.
In response to Hepner’s statement, the housing organization clarified why some units may remain empty longer.
“Units may be temporarily unoccupied for many reasons – including for necessary repairs, cleaning in preparation for occupancy, and awaiting move-in of new tenants,” a spokesperson explained, while the FOI did not elaborate what the repairs entail, Bolin said.
He said no landlord would allow a rental property to sit off of the market for months on end while pending repairs and questioned how the organization’s budget is tighter than a private lessor.
B.C Housing’s 2025-2026 budget, released this March, said they expected to receive over $2.8 million from the province.
“You look at the private sector – do you think a private landlord lets their units go for six to eight months with vacancies in them? Never,” said Bolin.
Fort St John falls into the riding of Peace River North, where the province’s sole independent minister represents the community. MLA Jordan Kealy said his new party affiliation allowed him to access Boyle directly, with Kealy previously affiliated with the Conservative Party.
“That’s a big advantage of being an independent, with the NDP in power, I actually have a very good working relationship with them when it comes to talking to ministers directly, and this is one of the issues that I’m waiting to hear back about,” said Kealy.
In Fort St John, Bolin said he hopes to see the city’s relationship with B.C. Housing improve as they work together.
“I’m forever the optimist. I think that this was as much of a wake call for them as it was a surprise for us, I’m hopeful that this relationship will now get stronger in knowing that we have the same goal- to get people into housing they can afford and get people off of the street,” he explained.
Kealy said his priority is ensuring his constituents are safely housed, especially with several vacant, provincially-operated units.
“Ultimately, the government has control over B.C. Housing, so when you see an abuse like that happening, there should be intervention,” said Kealy.
After Hepner’s statement was released, B.C. Housing acknowledged the issues Fort St John city council faced in acquiring the data.
“We would get responses back to the team (saying) that it’s being looked into, or this is who you need to ask, and after six months of asking it just got tiresome to the point that we had to use the FOI,” said Bolin, describing the process city staff went through for this information.
“I think that this is that example of the lack of transparency that we could have been dealing with this six months ago (if) we had known,” he continued.
A spokesperson said B.C. Housing’s northern operations team will reach out to Fort St John to arrange an information sharing agreement, which will ensure communication on a scheduled basis.
