Banff Housing Corporation Homeowner Policy

Banff Housing Corporation (BHC) Sub-Lease

To meet the affordability targets, the BHC has implemented a unique Sub-Lease Agreement, whereby the homeowner pays the total cost of construction, infrastructure and land (CIL), as well as development costs, relating to the home. The BHC acquires the equity difference between those costs and the appraised market value of the unit.

Using this formula, the BHC is able to provide housing at an affordable rate. For example:

Under the assumption that in 10 years the real estate market increases, and the market value of the same home is now $550,000, if the homeowner decides to sell, the following would represent the breakdown in equity share:

Based on this example, the homeowner has made $190,455 on their initial investment (i.e., $455,455 -$265,000). The value of the BHC equity share has increased by $39,545.

Sample Agreements

These generic sublease agreements are meant solely to provide information that may be of general assistance to interested parties and are not intended to represent and should not be assumed to be an exact copy of every or any BHC sublease. Prior to acquiring any BHC property the sublease agreement should always be reviewed with your solicitor.

• BHC Generic Sublease (PDF)
• BHC Price Restricted Sublease (PDF)

The BHC Board also adopted a sublease enforcement policy in April of 2013, to view this policy please select the below link:

• BHC Sublease enforcement policy (PDF)

Banff Housing Corporation Rental Policy

A BHC property is to be the primary residence of the BHC owner (Sub-Lessee). The definition of "Primary Residence" as contained in the sublease agreement indicates that the residence "is the place that the Sub-Lessee ordinarily and continually occupies as his residence on a full time basis, as determined by the Corporation." The BHC Board (Board) determines full time basis to be day to day.

 The purpose of the BHC is to help the Town of Banff maintain a healthy and balanced community. We do this, in part, by providing value-priced homeownership opportunities to eligible residents of Banff, based on a prioritized list. It is imperative that the BHC enforce Article 4 which ensures that BHC properties are owner occupied, as the alternative would defeat the purpose of the BHC's mandate and in so doing would ignore our obligations to current BHC homeowners, prioritized re-sale list applicants, and the community at large. 

 Article 4a)i of the Sublease Agreement allows an owner to leave the property vacant for a six month window in any twelve month period, and 4a)ii of the Sublease Agreement indicates that homeowners must receive approval from the Board if they wish to rent their premises for any window of time. The Board reserves the right to refuse rental requests at their discretion. Should a homeowner wish to rent their premises they must provide their request to the Board in writing. It is the practice of the Board of the BHC to grant rental requests to sub-lessee's for educational and/or work related reasons and such approvals are generally one year long at which time the sub-lessee must decide whether they wish to return to Banff and continuously occupy the premises on a full time basis or move forward with their new opportunity (ies). In cases where a homeowner is leaving the Bow Valley to study, say a three year course, the Board will approve rental during the first year of study and then requests that the homeowner return in each of the following years with subsequent requests demonstrating that they are continuing with their studies.

In accordance with BHC Shareholder motion BHCS12-20, effective January 1 2013 a rental request fee of $250+GST will be required when a request is provided to the BHC Board for consideration. This same fee applies to every request for renewal and the maximum rental approval period is one year.

At a minimum, rental approvals will be subject to the following conditions:

• The property cannot be rented to a business and/or used for the purposes of staff accommodation;
• The homeowner rent to a resident of the Town of Banff who meets Parks Canada's eligible residency requirements and is advised that they are required to update their statutory declaration on eligible residency to Parks Canada;
• The homeowner has received approval to rent their premises from the condominium association (if applicable);
• The homeowner identify a local representative who is authorized to act on behalf of the homeowner, including contact name and number, during their absence;
• That the homeowner provide the names of the tenants occupying the premises;
• That the tenant does not sublet the residence;
• That the homeowner must request an extension to the period outlined above if such is required to complete their studies (if applicable);
• It is also understood that this consent does not constitute approval for future rental

In addition to the above the BHC Board has also adopted a BHC roommates policy as of May 2013:

• BHC roommates policy (PDF)