The Victoria Residential Builders Association is raising concerns about the low number of new homes built in View Royal, British Columbia. While neighbouring communities like Langford and Colwood saw hundreds or even thousands of new housing permits in 2025, View Royal approved only three new homes for the entire year.
This gap comes at a time when the province has set a target for the Town of View Royal to build 585 new homes by 2029. In comparison, Langford permitted 1,386 units and Colwood approved 634 units during the same period, making up a large portion of all new housing in the region.
Local officials say the low permit numbers from last year do not show the full picture of development. According to the Town of View Royal, there are approximately 548 multi-family homes currently under construction as of March 2025, which will be officially counted once the buildings are finished.
The builders association is worried that residents in faster-growing towns are paying more than their fair share for regional infrastructure. The Capital Regional District recently approved water fees between $5,087 and $9,044 for each new home to pay for water system upgrades, which the association says burdens communities that are actively building.
Mayor Sid Tobias has expressed concerns about how rapid growth across the region affects local services like roads and sewers. He is currently leading a group of local leaders to seek a legal review of provincial housing laws to ensure local communities still have a say in how they are developed.
