Faster and more affordable homes built in a factory are soon to start rolling out after two standardized models were officially debuted in Penticton at the 2025 Modular Housing Summit on May 5.
Modular BC and the Mayors鈥� Task Force on Standardized Modular Factory-Built Homes unveiled the first of eight designs that will be available for modular home builders to use in factories across B.C.
The goal is to provide another angle of attack on the housing crisis facing communities by providing access to the designs to developers and municipalities seeking to build below-market housing on a property.
"The call to action for housing isn't just one initiative, it's many, and everybody's trying hard to deliver on the housing initiatives to get more housing to people both from the provincial and federal and we're working with them," said Mike Hurley, Mayor of Burnaby and chair of the task force. "It's not to say this is the answer instead of any other initiative. This is in addition, and we want to break the ground for others to follow because we're ahead, we have plants already working that are able to deliver more homes."
The task force, composed of Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield, Hurley, Merritt Mayor Michael Goetz, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, Prince George Mayor Simon Yu, and Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor, came together in November to begin working together on the topic of how modular, factory built homes could be used to address the housing shortage.
Moduline, a modular home builder in Penticton, is already signed up to start putting the new standardized designs together for customers.
"I think what we're bringing forward now is hopefully something that will be adopted by a lot of municipalities throughout the province and adopted by the province themselves, and we're really looking forward to moving forward quickly on this whole project," Bloomfield said.
The designs themselves, and their ability to be built in a factory before being shipped to their final destination, is only a part of the effort to speed up home building.
Another effort to speed up addressing the housing crisis unveiled at the summit was a program developed by the Modular Housing Association of BC, Modular BC and the Building Officials' Association of BC that is composed of a modular standardized building permit guide for municipalities and a standardized modular building inspection guide for the builders.
"We've got all of our speed in the construction, we've got all of our speed in getting a home in a day, but the other part that we've got is now we're giving the tools to help the permitting," said Paul Binotto, director of Modular BC. "Cities can now be assured about what's created in the plant, and the inspection process through the plant is second to none, so minimal inspection happens on site. It's not the standard designs alone, it's the whole program and this gives the tools to the municipalities to move quickly and develop quickly."
The four- and six-plex designs are part of Modular BC's five-year plan to grow the industry, and will be followed by further designs as prioritized by the task force. These designs were chosen to be first thanks to provincial legislation allowing them to be built almost anywhere in B.C.
Further designs will include larger, infill housing-style projects. Getting the program out the door with the two smaller designs is the current focus though.
"We the municipalities, we understand what we need to get things done more than the provincial or federal level," Yu said. "This initiative, is from the bottom-up than top-down, and this most likely will get things a little fast because to filter down is a lot of time. We need to get things done first and then we'll pivot from there."
In addition to providing a more affordable option for people looking to build new homes, the announcement also emphasized the jobs that expanding the industry would create, and the reductions in emissions and waste that factory-built homes offer compared with traditional construction methods.
The Modular Housing Summit in Penticton is in its third year and runs May 5 to 7.
