APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT

Affordable housing – CMHC and Statistics Canada currently use a metric to measure and understand housing affordability for households in Canada: the 30% shelter cost-income ratio (STIR). According to this metric, households spending 30% or less of their income on housing costs are likely in housing that is affordable. Though easy to understand, it does not indicate if a household can afford basic non-housing expenses like food and transportation after paying for housing.

Adequate housing – Housing adequacy is based on whether or not a home needs major repairs. If a home does not require major repairs, it is considered adequate for long-term habitation.

Detached secondary suites – Also known as coach houses, carriage houses, or laneway homes, these are fully self-contained living spaces, which usually share lots with single-family residences.

Mixed-market housing – Also called mixed-income housing, this is an integrated model of providing housing where market and below-market units are mixed within the same developments.

https://www.alberta.ca/affordable-housing-strategy.aspx

Non-market housing – Housing that is subsidized by government or non-profit housing that is below market; can include supportive and social housing.

https://www.bchousing.org/publications/Community-Acceptance-Toolkit-Introduction.pdf

Non-profit housing – Units and buildings managed by not-for-profit housing societies, typically with rents at below market or very affordable rates (i.e., non-market housing).

Purpose-built or primary rental - These are units that are built for rental tenure, often managed by a third-party operator and secured through a housing agreement or other form of operating agreement. The CMHC Rental Market Survey collects rental data for all communities of 10,000 or more in Canada focused exclusively on primary rental units.

Shelter rates – Housing provided at income assistance or disability assistance shelter rates.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/policies-for-government/bcea-policy-and procedure-manual/bc-employment-and-assistance-rate-tables/income-assistance-rate-table

Social housing – Any housing subsidized by government (can be through an associated agency like BC Housing) and owned and operated by government or a non-profit partner.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/affordable-and-social-housing/social-housing

Supportive housing – Services which provide housing and hospitality services for seniors and individuals with disabilities who can live independently. It does not include the additional level of support provided through personal care services, such as assistance activities of daily living and medication management, etc.

https://eppdscrmssa01.blob.core.windows.net/cmhcprodcontainer/files/pdf/glossary/nhs-glossary en.pdf?sv=2018-03-28&ss=b&srt=sco&sp=r&se=2021-05-07T03:55:04Z&st=2019-05-06T19:55:04Z&spr=https,http&sig=bFocHM6noLjK8rlhy11dy%2BkQJUBX%2BCDKzkjLHfhUIU0%3D

Operating agreements – A contract, typically between BC Housing or CMHC and a non-profit housing society, which sets out the amount, duration and conditions of the subsidy provided for a project.

https://www.bchousing.org/publications/Expiring-Operating-Agreements.pdf

Secondary Rental Market – CMHC defines the Secondary Rental Market as containing the following housing types:

Rented single-detached houses.
Rented double (semi-detached) houses (i.e. Two units of approximate equal size and under one roof that are situated either side-by-side or front-to-back).
Rented freehold row/town homes.
Rented duplex apartments (i.e. one-above-other).
Rented accessory apartments (separate dwelling units that are located within the structure of another dwelling type).
Rented condominiums (can be any dwelling type but are primarily apartments).
One or two apartments which are part of a commercial or other type of structure.

However, CMHC does not track the secondary rental market except in a few Canadian metropolitan areas.

https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en/TableMapChart/SrmsMethodology

Secondary suites – “Secondary and subordinate dwelling unit that is entirely contained within, and is subordinate to, a detached residential building”.

https://www.viewroyal.ca/assets/Town~Hall/Bylaws/900%20-%20Zoning%20Bylaw.pdf