Remember our report earlier this year about the 107 taxes Vancouver puts on housing? And remember when we sounded the alarm about the extra expense of Vancouver’s stupid plan to ban natural gas by 2050? Well, Les Leyne from the Victoria Times Colonist builds on that work with his column today.

From Leyne’s T-C piece:

Casey Edge, of the Victoria Residential Builders Association, told a finance committee meeting that high costs in the capital are due to lack of supply but also a layering of regulations at all levels. Building codes, land-use restrictions, permit fees and processes all contribute.

The property transfer tax is a perennial complaint from the industry, and Edge focused on its multiple applications.

“A developer buys land from an owner and pays the tax. The land is subdivided, a builder buys a lot, and the tax is paid again. The builder sells the home to a purchaser, and the tax is paid a third time. Three taxes are embedded in the price of one new home.”

The province was cited on another count related to upcoming changes to the building code. The government is keen to be seen as fighting climate change, and revisions up for approval shortly will mandate more energy-efficient new homes. But Edge said new homes are already energy-efficient and the stricter requirements make for negligible improvements, at much higher costs.

Meeting the highest standards of new code provisions could add $40,000 to the price. Financed over time, that could amount to $67,000, which would take almost a lifetime to recoup through lower energy costs.

Banning natural gas, however, ensures those residents will NEVER recoup those upfront costs.

All this does is make life even more unaffordable – and it’s totally within the control of government to cut this burden.