New School Tax makes Home Ownership and Renting More Expensive

Sabeena Bubber • March 13, 2018

The BC government has recently announced new taxes intended to improve housing affordability in its latest budget, you can read that here on my blog. Sadly, the new tax measures will likely have the opposite impact by making owning and renting more expensive. Here is some information that was originally prepared by the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association of BC and the letter drafted by CEO Samantha Gale. 

The school tax is targeted at residential properties valued over $3 million, but with house prices typically doubling every 7 to 10 years, this tax will soon apply to all single family homes and many strata units in urban areas.

As we all know, governments never cancel taxes. Once implemented, they are here to stay. 

This impacts everyone, including renters. 

The tax costs, when applied to rental housing, will likely be downloaded onto tenants paying rents.

As an example, one property owner with a modest, older rental home, which happens to sit on Vancouver’s pricey West Side, is assessed at $6 million, with the value being almost exclusively in the land. The house is clearly not an “expensive” home, and possess a remarkably high value simply because of its location.

The house contains two rental suites rented to long term tenants at a monthly rent, which would be considered “affordable” by most working British Columbians. The owner has no intention of selling the property or terminating the long-term tenancies that gross approximately $3,200 per month. However, the new tax will increase costs to the owner by about $830 per month by doubling its annual property tax owing.

The owner is not in a position to absorb this cost and will now be faced with a decision to either the sell the property or pass the costs onto the tenants. A new buyer would certainly evict the tenants and construct new housing on this particular lot, thereby removing two units from the rental pool.

CMBA - British Columbia has appealed to the BC government's Finance Minister, the Hon. Carol James, outlining how this new tax policy actually decreases housing affordability - across their entire constituent base - and works in opposition to their own stated affordability goals.

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

RECENT POSTS

What You Need to Know About Porting a Mortgage When Moving

By Sabeena Bubber • September 9, 2026
This is a subtitle for your new post

Bank of Canada Holds Rate at 2.25% — September 2, 2026

By Sabeena Bubber • September 2, 2026
The Bank of Canada announced today that it is holding its target for the overnight rate at 2.25%, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and the deposit rate at 2.20%. While Canada's economic recovery is broadening, a new layer of uncertainty has entered the picture. Here is what happened and what it means for your mortgage.

Fell Behind on a Payment? Don’t Panic—Here’s What to Do

By Sabeena Bubber • August 26, 2026
Missed a Credit Card or Line of Credit Payment? Here’s What to Do If you’ve missed a payment on a credit card or line of credit and you’re worried about how it might affect your credit—or your future mortgage—this is for you. First things first: 👉 If you currently have an overdue balance, log in and make the minimum payment now. Seriously. Do that first. Everything else can wait. If You’re Only a Few Days Late Here’s the good news: Credit bureaus don’t record late payments until they reach 30 days past due. So if you missed a due date by a few days and paid it as soon as you noticed, it typically won’t show up on your credit report as a late payment—as long as you’re under the 30-day mark. That said, it never hurts to double-check. You can call your credit card company, explain what happened, and confirm the account is back in good standing. If you normally pay on time, they may even reverse the interest charged. It doesn’t hurt to ask. If You’re 30, 60, or 90 Days Behind If payments have gone past 30 days, your credit has likely been impacted—but the situation is still fixable. The most important step is to: Bring all accounts current as soon as possible Make at least the minimum payment on every account The faster you catch up, the more you limit the damage. Ignoring missed payments only makes things worse. If Cash Flow Is Tight If you’re struggling to make payments, communication matters. Contact your lender and keep them informed—even if you can’t pay right away. Lenders are far more willing to work with you when you’re transparent. What hurts your credit most is silence . If lenders don’t hear from you after repeated missed payments, they may write the balance off as bad debt and send it to collections. Collections can significantly impact your credit and stay on your report for years. How This Affects Mortgage Qualification Repeated missed payments can make qualifying for a mortgage more difficult—but timing matters. Once you’re back to making regular, on-time payments: Your credit can improve over time The impact of past mistakes becomes less significant If you’re planning to buy a home in the next couple of years, addressing credit issues early gives you far more options later. Final Thoughts Missing a payment doesn’t mean you’re “bad with money,” and it doesn’t mean homeownership is off the table. What matters most is how quickly you respond and how consistent you are going forward . If you’d like help reviewing your credit report or understanding where you stand from a mortgage perspective, feel free to connect. I’d be happy to walk through it with you and help you create a clear path forward.