B.C. to require new homes to be adaptable for disabilities, prompting concern from developers

All new homes constructed in British Columbia will be required starting next March to be easily adapted so anyone with a disability can live in them, but builders are raising concern about the expenses of the changes, prompting Vancouver to delay compliance.

Meanwhile, disability advocates say the changes have been a long time coming and are not as expensive as the development industry is claiming. They argue that, once builders plan in advance on how to incorporate the improvements the features will be routine in every building and will not require individualized designs.

B.C. started consultations on the changes to its the building code two years ago and put out the proposed new regulations in December. BC Housing, the province’s social-housing agency, says it will comply fully with the regulations coming in, although some of its projects, especially seniors’ housing, are already built to be fully adaptable.

He estimated that at the current cost of construction, that works out to $50,000 to $70,000 more. At one project that he developed plans for in Surrey, it reduced the number of units that could be built on the site by 9 per cent.

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