Housing Accelerator Fund

What is the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)?

HAF is a national program run by CMHC that provides incentive funding to local governments to make it easier and faster to build new housing. The Fund was launched in 2023 with an initial budget of about $4 billion, and about $400 million more was added in Budget 2024, bringing the total to roughly $4.4 billion over several years. The District of Ucluelet’s HAF application was approved for $2,095,292.

This funding is being used to update bylaws and policies and fund infrastructure upgrades to accommodate new housing supply and increase housing diversity in Ucluelet.

How did Ucluelet receive HAF funding?

HAF is a competitive grant program that requires a detailed application to receive funding. The District was successful in its application to the 2024 HAF intake. Work outlined in the HAF application commenced in January 2024.

How does the HAF program work?

There are three main elements in an application to the HAF program.

• The Action Plan is a series of projects to be completed by the applicant to increase housing supply and diversity.
• The Capital Projects element of HAF identifies infrastructure projects that can accommodate new housing supply.
• The Housing Supply Target identifies the number of new units for which building permits will be issued as a result of HAF funding, and includes additional targets for housing diversity.

What are the conditions of HAF funding?

To receive all the HAF funding applied for, the Action Plan must be completed as outlined in the application. Some of the funding is contingent on achieving the Housing Supply Target and housing diversity targets.

What else is the District doing to increase housing supply and housing diversity?

The District is currently completing a Zoning Bylaw Refresh to make it clearer, easier to use, and better aligned with the community’s needs.

On November 4, Council directed staff to bring forward an amendment bylaw to change the requirements around secondary suites in the Zoning Bylaw. The current version of the Zoning Bylaw relies on previous versions of the BC Building Code that limited floor area to 90 square metres and did not permit secondary suites in attached housing forms.

The BC Building Code no longer includes a maximum floor area and permits secondary suites in vertically separated multi-family dwelling units (e.g. townhouse units). These changes will be considered in the Zoning Bylaw Refresh. The District is on track to complete its HAF Action Plan and has one outstanding Milestone that will be completed by summer 2026.  A table breaking down the HAF Action Plan is included at the bottom of the page.

Current Status Spring 2026

The District’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) agreement was initiated on January 24, 2024. Since January 2024, staff have been working on completing the Action Plan to speed up the supply of new housing in Ucluelet.

This has included 19 distinct projects that have been completed, and one remaining project that will be completed by summer 2026.At the Regular Council Meeting on November 4, 2025, staff provided an update to Council and identified the remaining HAF projects to complete as agreed to with CMHC to avoid grant funding impacts. At the Regular Council Meeting on December 9, 2025, Council considered bylaw amendments presented to fulfill HAF commitments, including:

• Pre-zoning land for multi-family housing and amendments to the R-2 Medium Density Residential zone to make infill development easier and provide more options for property owners.
• Applying rental-only zoning to existing and future purpose-built rental apartment buildings to retain long-term rental housing supply (this does not apply to the secondary rental market, such as secondary suites, coach houses, rented strata units, and rented single-detached houses).
• Amendments to the VR-1 Vacation Rental zone to make it possible to have long-term rental, short-term rental, and owner-occupation on the same property
• An updated Development Cost Charges Bylaw to ensure that “growth pays for growth”.
• An update to the Subdivision Control Bylaw to streamline the creation of green infrastructure such as rain gardens, bio-swales, and constructed wetlands.

Council considered third and final readings of bylaw amendments related to HAF projects at the Regular Council Meetings on January 13 and 27, and by January 27, all the required HAF projects were complete.

Staff Reports to Council provide details on all these projects and can be found in Council Meeting Agendas. Council Meeting Minutes provide a record of Council’s decisions on bylaw amendments and other matters. You can view Council meeting recordings to listen to staff and consultant presentations to Council, and hear Council discussion prior to their decision-making.

All these are available on the District’s website: Council Meeting Agendas, Minutes, and Video Recordings

HAF Action Plan