Advocacy Update #42 - July 28, 2026

In this issue:

• CHBA BC Meets with Housing Critic A’aliya Warbus

• New Provincial Guidance on How PST Will Apply to Professional Services

• BC Wetlands Engagement Session with the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

• Industry perspectives on carbon pollution regulations for new construction in B.C.

CHBA BC Meets with Housing Critic A’aliya Warbus

On July 15, CHBA BC met with newly appointed Housing Critic A’aliya Warbus and her staff to discuss the challenges facing homebuilders across British Columbia and highlight CHBA BC’s key advocacy priorities, including actions to increase housing supply and improve housing attainability.

CHBA BC looks forward to working with MLA Warbus to advance practical policy solutions that address the barriers to housing delivery and help create the conditions needed to build more homes across the province.

New Provincial Guidance on How PST Will Apply to Professional Services

Effective October 1, 2026, PST will be applicable (at the rate of 7%) to the professional services listed below. Provincial guidance has now been published regarding how PST will apply to each of these professional services, including transitional rules and exemptions:

• Accounting services, including bookkeeping and assurance services;

• Architectural services;

• Engineering and geoscience services;

• Security services, including private investigation services;

• Non-residential real estate services, including trading services, rental property management services and strata management services.

Note: The PST on architectural services and engineering and geoscience services will apply to 30% of the purchase price of those services.

BC Wetlands Engagement Session with the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

On July 16, CHBA BC participated in an engagement session hosted by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to improve natural resource permitting.

Proposals presented during the session include:

• Updates to Best Management Practices for Changes in and about a Stream;

• Wetland Delineation Guidance;

• Wetland Ecosystems Services Protocol-BC;

• Standard Procedure for Applying the Environmental Mitigation Policy (EMP);

• Wetland Mitigation Guidance; and,

• Wetland Data Submission, Management and Access.

See the presentation slides here.

If you have any questions or concerns related to these proposals, please contact Jenny Scott at jenny@chbabc.org.

Industry perspectives on carbon pollution regulations for new construction in B.C.

EcoAnalytics’ Clean Cities Research Project interviewed 20 building developers and contractors in BC to learn more about industry perspectives on achievability, readiness and viability of BC’s new building decarbonization regulations including the Zero Carbon Step Code.

Overall, the findings suggest that industry pushback on carbon requirements should not be understood simply as opposition to climate action. Instead, participants contested the

pace, policy design, and practical delivery of the transition. Their comments point to a clear

implication for policymakers: stronger carbon requirements may attract broader support if

paired with clearer sequencing, better technical communication, and more visible efforts to

reduce implementation risk and protect project viability.

Read more here

CMHC expects slow economic growth, weak housing demand, declining home prices, lower housing starts and easing rental markets in 2026, according to their summer update to the 2026 Housing Market Outlook.

The Township of Langley has dropped its appeal of a court ruling that overturned the Township’s Community Amenity Contribution policy.

The BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) accepted FortisBC’s request for total DSM incremental expenditures of $86 million for 2026 and 2027, including $47.6 million towards residential programs. 

This newsletter is exclusive for Canadian Home Builders' Association of BC (CHBA BC) members. If a colleague would like to subscribe, please have them update their contact information with their local association. For questions, feel free to contact Jenny Scott, Director of Policy and Government Relations, or Pauline Rupp, Director of Technical and Building Innovation.