Delta barely cleared its last housing target and faces a harder one ahead
Delta surpassed its provincial housing target by one unit in the year to September 2025, but the number required for the next year is 18 percent higher and construction has slowed.
Reported. A news outlet found this. voche.me names the outlet and links its report. Read the original report on delta-optimist.com.
Delta added 585 net new housing units in the year ending September 30, 2025, one more than the 584 the province required, according to a Delta Optimist report published October 31. The next year demands 687, and developers have been slowing construction across Metro Vancouver.
The province set Delta a Housing Target Order in the fall of 2023 requiring 3,607 net new units within five years, ending September 30, 2028, the Optimist reported. That figure represents 75 percent of Delta's estimated housing need. Each year the required number is added to previous years' totals, raising the cumulative bar.
How Delta has done so far
In the first full annual reporting period, covering October 2023 to September 2024, Delta was required to add 514 units and added 561. In the following year, October 2024 to September 2025, the target was 584 and the result was 585. Those two years together put Delta 48 units ahead of its cumulative requirement of 1,098 units.
The City's staff report noted that units count only when construction is complete and an occupancy permit is issued. A lot that is rezoned and listed for sale does not count until homes are built and people can move in. The Optimist reported a two-lot subdivision near Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen, rezoned by council and recently listed for just under $1.3 million per parcel, cannot yet be counted toward Delta's total because construction has not started.
The harder year ahead
The next reporting period covers October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, when Delta is required to add 687 net new units and reach a cumulative total of 1,785. The Optimist reported that the figures for that period have not been made public, because Delta council did not hold a regular meeting before the municipal election.
The City's staff report, cited by the Optimist, said that interest rate changes, rising construction costs and general economic uncertainty have led developers to put projects on hold at various stages. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said in its summer 2026 Housing Market Outlook that home building in Metro Vancouver is expected to keep contracting for the rest of the decade, with condominium construction falling to historically low levels and no recovery in starts before 2028.
What the new council inherits
Melissa Granum, elected mayor on October 17, campaigned on opening a public review of the Official Community Plan and on challenging the province's Bill 44, which removed some local controls over height, setbacks, parking and design. Her housing promises are tracked on her candidate page.
The new Delta City Council holds its inaugural meeting on November 2, 2026, at Delta City Hall. Residents can follow council's housing decisions at pub-delta.escribemeetings.com. The next Housing Target Progress Report has not yet been made public.
Questions this story answers
What is Delta's overall housing target from the province?
The Province of BC set Delta a Housing Target Order in the fall of 2023 requiring 3,607 net new completed housing units within five years, ending September 30, 2028. That number represents 75 percent of the total estimated housing need for Delta over that period, according to the Delta Optimist.
How did Delta do against its most recent annual target?
In the year from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, Delta was required to add 584 net new units. The city added 585, according to its last Housing Target Progress Report, surpassing the annual requirement by one unit. The cumulative total required by end of September 2025 was 1,098 units, and Delta had 48 more than that, at 1,146 net new units.
What is Delta's housing target for the next reporting period?
The next reporting period covers October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The province requires Delta to add 687 net new units in that year. The cumulative total required by the end of that period rises to 1,785 units. The Delta Optimist reported that the results for that period have not yet been made public, because Delta council did not hold a regular meeting before the election.
Why has housing construction slowed in Delta?
A City of Delta staff report cited in the Delta Optimist noted that interest rate changes, rising construction costs and general economic uncertainty have led developers to put projects on hold at all stages. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's Housing Market Outlook, released this summer, forecast that home building in Metro Vancouver will keep contracting for the rest of the decade, with condominium construction falling to historically low levels and no recovery in starts before 2028.
Does completing a rezoning count toward the target?
No. Units can only be counted toward Delta's Housing Target Order once construction is complete and occupancy permits are issued, according to the City's staff report. That means a rezoned and listed property does not count until homes are built and people can move in. The Delta Optimist reported a side-by-side lot near Centennial Beach in Tsawwassen, rezoned and listed for just under $1.3 million each parcel, cannot yet be counted toward Delta's total.
What changes did Delta already make to meet the target?
In the summer of 2024, Delta council approved a new Official Community Plan and small-scale multi-unit housing regulations, both required by the province. Those changes allow up to four units on a standard residential lot. The city also worked to streamline the development approvals process.
What did Mayor-Elect Melissa Granum say about housing policy?
During the campaign, Melissa Granum pledged to open a public review of Delta's Official Community Plan and to challenge the province's Bill 44, which removed some local controls over height, setbacks, parking and design. Her promise to review the OCP is tracked at her candidate page. The new council meets for the first time on November 2, 2026.
Where can Delta residents follow housing progress at the new council?
Delta City Council's agendas and minutes are at pub-delta.escribemeetings.com. Mayor-Elect Melissa Granum's housing promises are tracked at /bc/delta-2026/candidates/melissa-granum. The next Housing Target Progress Report covering October 2025 to September 2026 has not yet been made public.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
Found an error? Tell the editors with the corrections form. A correction is noted on the story it changes. Read our standards.
