BC Election 2026 and Housing: What Each Party Would Change for Owners, Buyers and Renters

None of the five parties running the most candidates in this election has proposed a specific change to the property transfer tax. On an $800,000 resale condo, that's $14,000 due on completion day after October 24, the same as the day before, under every platform published so far.

All five talk about housing, yet the tax buyers feel most on closing day isn't on anyone's list of changes. CentreBC wants audit teams for the PTT rather than new rates. OneBC says it would eliminate "taxes that inflate housing prices" without naming which ones. The pledges that do move real dollars land on narrower groups: owners of empty homes, developers holding finished condos, seniors who defer their property tax, renters, and builders of rental housing.

B.C. votes on Saturday, October 24. Below is what each of the five had put in writing on housing as of October 11, party by party and side by side, then the dollar math on a few hypothetical Greater Vancouver homes. Where I couldn't find a position, I wrote "no stated position found" rather than guess. This isn't advice on how to vote.

Source: Elections BC, 2026 provincial election; Elections BC, current candidate list, checked October 11, 2026. The 47-seat majority is simple arithmetic on 93 seats.

The parties and the dates

Source: Elections BC current candidate list; Canadian Press via Global News, party leaders; party websites, checked October 11, 2026. No other party is running more than 4 candidates.

When the election was called on September 22, two years before B.C.'s fixed date, the NDP held 47 of 93 seats. The Conservatives had 29 and the Greens 2, with 13 independents (eight of them CentreBC members) and two vacancies, per The Canadian Press. Within two hours of the call, seven of those CentreBC MLAs rejoined the Conservative caucus.

The rules today

Every pledge below changes something already on the books. Here's the baseline, from the province's own pages.

Source: PTT; foreign buyer tax; first-time buyers; newly built homes; SVT rates; flipping tax; home owner grant; rent increases; renter's tax credit; deferment interest (gov.bc.ca).

Two federal–provincial deals from June sit in the background. One would convert more than 2,200 vacant condo units in priority growth areas into rent-to-own affordable homes, with about $1.45 billion of potential spending; in August the housing minister said talks were ongoing. The other puts up to $3.2 billion over 10 years toward cutting development cost charges (DCCs) on multi-unit housing by up to 50% in "priority communities" that hadn't been named as of August (Canadian Press, June 25 and Aug. 6).

Party by party

Alphabetical order. I read each party's campaign releases and platform material up to October 11, 2026. Quotes are the parties' own words; sources are at the bottom.

BC Conservatives

Leader: Lorne Doerkson (interim). The party's plan page had ten items on October 11, none of them a housing plan, so its positions come from statements and releases.

• Taxes: Doerkson pledged on September 27 that his government "will never raise taxes on British Columbians." Responding to the NDP's housing tax plan, he said "every new tax on housing ends up in the price a family pays" and that a Conservative government "will bring down the cost of building and buying a home." Neither statement says whether the party would repeal the SVT or stop the proposed condo tax.
• Property tax deferment: "reverse the NDP's changes to the Property Tax Deferment Program" and "restore the previous terms," meaning simple interest at prime minus 2% instead of compound interest at prime plus 2%. The release cites the BC Seniors Advocate's estimate that the change costs deferring seniors about $1,200 more a year on average.
• Red tape and approvals (economy-wide): cut red tape "back to 2017 levels by the end of a first term," a "one-in, two-out" red-tape law, and a "120 Day Permitting Act for Major Projects over $250 million."
• Metro Vancouver: its housing function (with economic development, air quality and climate policy) "will be returned" to local governments and the province, and Metro Vancouver would get a "smaller, professional board."
• Indigenous title: repeal DRIPA (Doerkson, September 28).

No stated position found on: PTT, the SVT, the flipping tax, the foreign buyer tax, the home owner grant, rent rules, DCCs, BC Builds, the Step Code or Bill 44 zoning. The NDP's campaign site says the conservative parties would eliminate the speculation tax; I didn't find that position in Conservative 2026 material.

BC Greens

Leader: Emily Lowan. The Greens have a renters policy brief (September 29) and topic releases; their plan page says the full platform is "coming soon."

• Rent rules: "Implement Vacancy Control," which "ties increases in rent to a unit, rather than a tenant," with annual increases still set by the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB). Also an RTB rent review "when market rents in their city are decreasing," no blanket no-pets clauses, and the RTB holding deposits.
• Rent help: more Rental Assistance Program and SAFER support, with SAFER income thresholds raised to $48,000 (singles) and $53,000 (couples).
• Non-market housing: "Immediately restart the Community Housing Fund and Indigenous Housing Fund, with a goal of building and protecting 26,000 housing units per year," and protect 2,000 "deeply affordable" rentals a year through the Rental Protection Fund.
• Wealth tax: the Fair Share Act, a one-time 5% to 20% tax on net wealth above $50 million (real estate included), then 2% to 5% a year. The party says under 2,500 households would pay, with part of the revenue going to housing.
• Indigenous title: implement DRIPA "through legislation."

No stated position found on: PTT, the SVT, the flipping tax, the foreign buyer tax, the home owner grant, a tax on unsold condos, DCCs, the Step Code or Bill 44 zoning.

BC NDP

Leader: David Eby. I found no full NDP platform document as of October 11; its commitments come from campaign releases.

• Speculation and vacancy tax: "increase the speculation and vacancy tax by one percentage point, from 1% to 2% for domestic speculators and from 4% to 5% for foreign speculators," with extra revenue going to affordable housing. No start year given. The 4% is the foreign-owner rate already scheduled for 2027; the 2026 rate is 3%.
• Unsold Condo Tax: a new tax "on finished condos left empty for more than a year. Starting at 2 per cent, the tax will increase by 1 per cent for each additional year a condo remains unsold." The party says it "could unlock up to 5,000 condos," citing a Real Property Data estimate of $4.45 billion in unsold units. Daily Hive noted no start date, valuation method, exemptions or cap were given.
• Supply: "build the infrastructure and homes B.C. needs." No stated position found on new zoning, DCC or approval measures.
• Uninsured homes: match Canadian Red Cross donations up to $20 million for 2026 wildfire victims, "especially to support those who are uninsured and underinsured."

No stated position found on: PTT, the flipping tax, the foreign buyer tax, the home owner grant, rent rules beyond the 2.2% cap already set for 2027, DCCs, BC Builds, the Step Code, or DRIPA and Indigenous title in this campaign.

CentreBC

Leader: Elenore Sturko. CentreBC has published a 44-page platform.

• Approvals: by January 1, 2028, "a provincial standard of 6 months for rezonings and 8 weeks for building permits, with one set of rules across municipalities. If a deadline is missed, the builder gets their fees back." Plus a $125-million-a-year fund for cities that hit timelines and targets.
• DCCs: "cut development cost charges in half on new rental and below-market homes everywhere in BC," with the province adding $240 million a year to a growth fund.
• Below-market and rental supply: "double BC Builds to 20,000 homes that rent or sell below market by 2031," and rebate the PST on building materials for purpose-built rentals of four or more homes started from 2027 to 2032.
• Renters: raise the renter's tax credit "from $400 to $600 a year," with the full credit up to $80,000 of household income (from about $66,000), a partial credit up to $100,000, and indexing.
• Owners: pay for heat pumps, insulation and solar on the property tax or BC Hydro bill over up to 20 years; "The charge stays with the home, so if you sell, the next owner takes it over." Audit teams for PST, PTT and the speculation tax; no rate change proposed.
• Indigenous title: repeal DRIPA and section 8.1 of the Interpretation Act, replace them with treaty-based law, and pass a "homeowner guarantee" compensating owners "for any loss in value, up to the assessed value of their home" from a title ruling. The platform says the August 2025 Cowichan ruling in Richmond, now under appeal, affects about 145 private properties.

No stated position found on: the flipping tax, the foreign buyer tax, the home owner grant, rent caps, a tax on unsold condos, the Step Code or Bill 44 zoning.

OneBC

Leader: Dallas Brodie (interim). OneBC's housing positions are on its priorities page and home page, neither dated.

• Building rules: "Eliminate the Step Code that is raising housing costs with unnecessary green building requirements."
• Rent: "Block municipal rent control programs that disincentivize development and new units being put up for rent."
• Land and taxes: "Make homeownership attainable again for people with regular incomes by opening new land for development and eliminating taxes that inflate housing prices." The page doesn't say which taxes.
• Indigenous title: "Repeal DRIPA and declare UNDRIP to have no force and effect in BC," and halt voluntary transfers of cash, land and control over public resources to band governments.

No stated position found on: the PTT or SVT by name, a tax on unsold condos, the flipping tax, the foreign buyer tax, the home owner grant, DCCs, BC Builds or Bill 44 zoning.

Side by side, issue by issue

"No stated position found" means I didn't find one in the party's 2026 material, not that the party is for or against. Where the governing NDP has no new pledge, its current policy (the rules above) is the status quo. Income tax pledges aren't housing policy, but they change what a buyer can afford, so they're in the first table.

Source: party releases and platform documents listed under Sources, read October 11, 2026. The two tables summarize; the party sections above quote the wording.

Two rules no party has published a plan to change are covered in earlier posts: the BC home flipping tax and Bill 44 small-scale multi-unit zoning, which the province says 97% of local governments have adopted.

What it means in dollars

These are hypothetical homes, not transactions. The round numbers sit close to this week's median asking prices in the City of Vancouver on EstateBlock: $799,000 for a condo, $1,399,900 for a townhouse (asking prices of active listings, not sale prices). The SVT is charged on BC Assessment value, so in those rows read $800,000 as an assessed value.

Source: my calculations from gov.bc.ca PTT rates; SVT rates; deferment interest (illustrative 6.45% and 2.45% rates); renter's tax credit and the party sources above. Hypothetical homes and incomes; one owner; no exemptions unless stated; deferment fees excluded.

PTT: no proposed change

On $800,000, PTT is 1% of the first $200,000 plus 2% of the rest: $2,000 plus $12,000. A first-time buyer at that price pays nothing on the first $500,000, saving $8,000. Buy the same condo new as a citizen or PR who will live in it, and the newly built home exemption takes PTT to $0. BCREA, the provincial realtors' association, asked parties to exempt homes below the average B.C. price ($924,826); none of the five platforms has adopted that. Run your own number with the PTT calculator.

Who the NDP's SVT change would reach

Canadian owner, 2026 and 2027 rules$8,000Canadian owner, NDP proposal$16,000Foreign owner, 2026 rules$24,000Foreign owner, 2027 rules$32,000Foreign owner, NDP proposal$40,000

Source: gov.bc.ca SVT rates; BC NDP release, Sept 25, 2026

Show the numbers

Owner and rules	Tax a year
Canadian owner, 2026 and 2027 rules	$8,000
Canadian owner, NDP proposal	$16,000
Foreign owner, 2026 rules	$24,000
Foreign owner, 2027 rules	$32,000
Foreign owner, NDP proposal	$40,000

The SVT only bites when no exemption applies. A Canadian citizen or PR living in B.C. who isn't an untaxed worldwide earner (satellite families count as untaxed worldwide earners) may be exempt on a principal residence, and an owner may be exempt if a tenant occupies the home for at least six months of the year. So the NDP change reaches homes that sit empty or are used part-time, in taxable areas that include Metro Vancouver. For those owners it doubles the Canadian rate: $8,000 a year becomes $16,000 on an $800,000 assessment. Check yours with the SVT calculator. In the City of Vancouver, the Empty Homes Tax is separate, with its own rules.

The unsold condo tax

The NDP hasn't said what value the 2% would apply to, when it would start, or what's exempt. As described, it targets finished units that haven't sold. Suppose it used something close to $800,000: a developer would pay $16,000 in the first taxed year, $24,000 in the next and $32,000 in the third, $72,000 in all on one unit. The cost of holding rises every year the unit stays unsold.

Property tax deferment

• Current terms (6.45%, compounded monthly)
• Previous terms (2.45%, simple)

$4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000

$9,513$6,225

0246810

Source: gov.bc.ca tax deferment interest and fees; BC Conservatives, Oct 9, 2026

Show the numbers

	Current terms (6.45%, compounded monthly)	Previous terms (2.45%, simple)
0	$5,000	$5,000
1	$5,332	$5,122
2	$5,686	$5,245
3	$6,064	$5,368
4	$6,467	$5,490
5	$6,897	$5,612
6	$7,355	$5,735
7	$7,844	$5,858
8	$8,365	$5,980
9	$8,921	$6,102
10	$9,513	$6,225

The province's own examples use 6.45% compounded for the new terms and 2.45% simple for the old regular-program terms, so I used the same illustrative rates. On $5,000 deferred and repaid ten years later, that's about $4,513 of interest now against $1,225 under the terms the Conservatives would restore. Real rates reset each quarter with prime.

Renters

The renter's tax credit is $400 today, cut by 2% of adjusted income above $66,189, so a household at $75,000 gets about $224. Under CentreBC's plan it would get the full $600. CentreBC hasn't published how its partial credit phases out between $80,000 and $100,000.

The Greens' brief notes that rent increases are allowed once a year "unless there is a change of tenant," so a landlord can re-rent a $2,400 unit at market, say $2,800. If increases followed the unit and the 2027 cap of 2.2% applied at turnover, the new tenant would pay about $2,453. The brief doesn't spell out turnover mechanics, so treat that as an illustration. If you own or are buying a tenanted condo, this pledge would change your rent math most.

Two supply pledges come without a number I can check. CentreBC estimates its DCC cut would save "up to $40,000 a home in high-cost communities." OneBC says the Step Code is "raising housing costs" but gives no figure. Both land first on what a project costs to build.

The latest polls

Polls are snapshots, not forecasts. These are the three most recent polls I could check at the pollster's own release.

Source: Liaison Strategies, Oct 9; Angus Reid Institute, Oct 5; Mainstreet Research, Oct 6 (PDF). All three show decided and leaning voters (Mainstreet with undecideds removed). Angus Reid reported all other parties together at 2%; Liaison had "other" at 4%. Margins are the pollsters' own; Angus Reid gives a probability-sample equivalent of ±3.

How much does housing drive the vote? In the Angus Reid poll, 24% picked housing affordability among their top three issues, behind cost of living (57%), health care (42%) and the economy and jobs (26%). In a Liaison poll from September 26 to 27, 82% said housing policy is important to their vote, and 58% were concerned about meeting their housing costs next year.

What matters for the market

What I'd do this month, whatever the result:

• Own a condo you don't live in? Check now whether an exemption covers it (principal residence, or a tenant for six months or more). With no exemption, an $800,000 assessment costs a Canadian owner $8,000 a year today.
• Holding a presale that completes in 2027? No party has proposed changing the new-build exemption or the flipping tax, so plan on today's rules. If you might assign it, read the flipping tax post and my presale guide.
• Selling a condo? Look at how long comparable units nearby have been listed; EstateBlock's Vancouver condo listings show days on market for each.

Tax rules have exceptions, and none of these proposals has legislation behind it yet. Confirm your own situation with an accountant or lawyer before acting on any of this.

This post covers party material published up to October 11, 2026. Parties are still releasing pledges.

FAQ

When is the BC election in 2026?

Final voting day is Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific. Advance voting runs October 16 to 21. Voters elect 93 MLAs, so a majority is 47 seats.

Would any party change the property transfer tax?

As of October 11, 2026, none of the five parties running the most candidates has proposed changing PTT rates or the first-time buyer or newly built home exemptions. CentreBC would add PTT audit teams. OneBC says it would eliminate "taxes that inflate housing prices" without naming them.

What are the parties proposing on the speculation and vacancy tax and empty condos?

The BC NDP would raise the SVT by one point (1% to 2% for Canadian owners, 4% to 5% for foreign owners; 4% is the rate already set for 2027, 3% in 2026) and add an Unsold Condo Tax on finished condos unsold for more than a year, starting at 2% and rising one point a year. On a home assessed at $800,000 with no exemption, the SVT change adds $8,000 a year. CentreBC proposes audit teams, no rate change. The BC Conservatives criticized the plan without saying whether they would reverse it; no stated position was found for the Greens or OneBC.

What are the parties promising renters?

The BC Greens propose vacancy control, an RTB rent review when market rents fall and a ban on blanket no-pets clauses. CentreBC would raise the renter's tax credit from $400 to $600, in full up to $80,000 of household income. OneBC would block municipal rent control programs. No stated position was found for the BC NDP or BC Conservatives.

What are the parties proposing to speed up home building?

CentreBC: 6-month rezoning and 8-week permit standards by 2028, half DCCs on rental and below-market homes, double BC Builds. BC Conservatives: red tape back to 2017 levels, 120-day permits for major projects over $250 million (economy-wide). BC Greens: restart the Community Housing Fund to build and protect 26,000 non-market homes a year. OneBC: eliminate the Step Code, open new land. BC NDP: "build the infrastructure and homes B.C. needs"; no stated position found on new zoning or approval measures.

Sources

1. Elections BC: 2026 provincial election (dates, seats, voting)
2. Elections BC: current candidate list (checked Oct 11, 2026)
3. Canadian Press via Global News: who are B.C.'s party leaders (Sept 22, 2026)
4. Canadian Press via Castanet: Eby calls election, standings at dissolution (Sept 22, 2026)
5. Canadian Press via Narcity: election called, CentreBC MLAs rejoin Conservatives (Sept 22, 2026)
6. BC Conservatives: statement on the NDP housing tax plan (Sept 25, 2026)
7. BC Conservatives: no new taxes pledge (Sept 27, 2026)
8. BC Conservatives: Metro Vancouver platform (Oct 5, 2026)
9. BC Conservatives: Supercharge British Columbia's economy (Oct 7, 2026)
10. BC Conservatives: tax cut of $1,000 / basic personal amount (Oct 8, 2026)
11. BC Conservatives: property tax deferment (Oct 9, 2026)
12. BC Conservatives: plan, First Nations and DRIPA
13. BC Conservatives: plan page
14. BC Greens: Rights for Renters policy brief (Sept 2026, PDF)
15. BC Greens: plan to support seniors (Oct 4, 2026)
16. BC Greens: Fair Share Act (Oct 5, 2026)
17. BC Greens: Fair Share Act FAQ (Oct 11, 2026)
18. BC Greens: statement on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Sept 30, 2026)
19. BC Greens: our plan
20. BC NDP: speculation and vacancy tax increase and Unsold Condo Tax (Sept 25, 2026)
21. BC NDP: campaign launch (Sept 22, 2026)
22. BC NDP: Action for You (housing record and claims about opponents)
23. BC NDP: wildfire support for uninsured families (Oct 2, 2026)
24. BC NDP: income tax on top brackets (Oct 4, 2026)
25. Daily Hive: BC NDP unsold condo tax proposal (Sept 25, 2026)
26. CentreBC: 2026 platform (PDF)
27. OneBC: priorities
28. OneBC: home page
29. Province of B.C.: property transfer tax
30. Province of B.C.: additional property transfer tax (foreign buyers)
31. Province of B.C.: first-time home buyers' exemption
32. Province of B.C.: newly built home exemption
33. Province of B.C.: speculation and vacancy tax rates
34. Province of B.C.: how the speculation and vacancy tax works
35. Province of B.C.: SVT exemptions for individuals
36. Province of B.C.: SVT taxable areas
37. Province of B.C.: home flipping tax
38. Province of B.C.: home owner grant
39. Province of B.C.: rent increases
40. Province of B.C.: renter's tax credit
41. Province of B.C.: property tax deferment interest and fees
42. Province of B.C.: housing release and backgrounder, June 2, 2026 (zoning adoption)
43. Canadian Press via CFJC Today: condo conversion plan (June 25, 2026)
44. Canadian Press via CFJC Today: condo plan and DCC partnership update (Aug 6, 2026)
45. BCREA: 2026 provincial election asks
46. Liaison Strategies: B.C. poll, Oct 7 to 8, 2026
47. Liaison Strategies: housing poll, Sept 26 to 27, 2026
48. Angus Reid Institute: B.C. election poll, Oct 1 to 3, 2026
49. Mainstreet Research: British Columbia, October 2026 (PDF)
50. EstateBlock.com: live listings, snapshot Oct 10, 2026