Falcon says BC United's housing plan includes rent-to-own initiative, drops taxes

British Columbia's Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon is pitching a housing plan that aims to get more first-time buyers into homes, and it comes just days after Premier David Eby promised to build more affordable rental units for the middle class.

Falcon says the BC United's "Fix Housing" plan includes four initiatives to reduce the high cost of housing and increase supply, which he pledges to introduce if his party takes power in this fall's election.

He says he'll drop the province's property transfer tax for first-time homebuyers who purchase for less than $1 million, eliminate the provincial sales tax on new residential homes, build affordable housing on empty public land and establish a rent-to-own program.

Falcon says the rent-to-own plan will help qualified first-time buyers who are renting a new property become homeowners through a purchase agreement where they contribute three years of rental payments towards a down payment on the same home.

He says high down payments are a stumbling block to making a home purchase for many first-time buyers in B.C.

Earlier this week, Eby introduced the New Democrat government's BC Builds program that will target and help finance affordable rental developments on property owned by governments, communities and non-profits.