Can Delta still meet the province's mandated housing target?
Delta has cleared its cumulative housing target so far, but the next period requires 687 new units, and developers are pausing projects.
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Delta's provincial housing target is 3,607 net new units by Sept. 30, 2028, a figure the Ministry of Housing set in fall 2023 as 75 per cent of estimated need. Delta was among the first communities to receive a target.
Progress is measured in yearly reporting periods. The first full period, Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024, had a target of 514 units, and Delta achieved 561. The next period, ending Sept. 30, 2025, had a target of 584 and Delta achieved 585. Cumulatively, Delta has surpassed its required total of 1,098 units by 48.
The next reporting period runs Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026, when Delta must add 687 net new units, bringing the cumulative requirement to 1,785. The latest figures have not been made public because council has no regular meeting until after the municipal election.
The city's last progress report cites a key hurdle: new units count only once construction is finished and occupancy permits are issued, which can take years after a demolition permit.
Two side-by-side lots near Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen are listed at just under $1.3 million each. Council gave three readings to a two-lot subdivision application for the site in the 200-block of 65B Street earlier this year, and the rezoning allows up to four units per lot. Those homes would count toward the target only if occupied by Sept. 30, 2028.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's latest outlook says home building in Metro Vancouver will keep contracting through the rest of the decade, with no recovery in starts before 2028.
