Housing & Homelessness

A focus on creating more attainable and accessible housing saw Penticton have a strong year in 2024, with more than 600 units receiving development permit approval. Further work on the remaining Official Community Plan Housing Task Force recommendations is planned for 2025. This includes various ways for the City to support more affordable housing.

Council has initiated the Social Housing & Infrastructure Plan, which will work with local partners to not only identify land amongst partners and funding opportunities, but be a guide for future social housing needs and a roadmap for how to get there. 

The City completed a Housing Needs Assessment, released in July 2023, which showed that between 2016 and 2021, Penticton’s annual growth rate was high, at 1.9%. If this trend continues, the City will have 20,000 additional residents by 2046, putting the population above 56,000. To meet this population projection, the City will need to add 240-380 new residential units every year.

Rental housing developments

Many new and existing rental options exist for single working individuals and families with low to moderate incomes. This includes BC Housing’s The Rise Nanaimo Building, which offers 56 units of affordable housing, for people between the ages of 20 to 45. BC Housing also provides rental supplements and other housing supports for those meeting low income thresholds. Contact BC Housing for more information and to learn more about the various options.

The Penticton and District and Society for Community Living operates the Backstreet Apartments, which are newly constructed bachelor, one- and two-bedroom units downtown as well as many other residential units through the community.

BC Housing is also creating a new rental housing project at 603 Main Street, with 28 homes for families, in partnership with M'Akola Housing Society.

Further development projects are currently at the planning or permitting stages. 

• April 17, 2025: Penticton’s Temporary Winter Shelter provided care to 91 individuals and resulted in 12 becoming permanently housed. This model of shelter also decreased calls for service to police, fire and bylaw services over a five-month period, according to the latest data ending March 31, 2025. BC Housing has provided bridging funding for the shelter to continue operating until the end of May while working on longer-term arrangements.

   

• April 1, 2025: Penticton City Council met with Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, Ravi Kahlon to discuss encampment, shelter and housing solutions in Penticton. The meeting focused on Penticton’s proactive approach and request for provincial funding to support HEART and HEARTH programming in Penticton. The Province has confirmed interim funding for the Temporary Winter Shelter for April and May, ensuring no disruption to services as discussions continue. The City will continue to work closely with BC Housing, 100 More Homes, community service providers and the Snpink’tn Indian Band this spring to ensure the right mix of housing, services and supports is available and that suitable locations are identified for all types of housing, including the unhoused.

   

• Feb. 6, 2025: The snpink’tn Indian Band and the City of Penticton have sent a letter to the provincial government formally asking for a Heart & Hearth Agreement. 

Download the fact sheet below to print off 

Letter to Neighbours

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Penticton’s Temporary Winter Shelter provided care to 91 individuals and resulted in 12 becoming permanently housed. This model of shelter also decreased calls for service to police, fire and bylaw services over a five-month period, according to the latest data ending March 31, 2025.

City Council received a report involving the seasonal shelter during the next Council meeting on Tuesday, April 22. The information, compiled in partnership with 100 More Homes, RCMP, Penticton Fire Department, City Bylaw Services, the Penticton Industrial Development Association, and Penticton Chamber of Commerce shows an overall decline in calls for public safety agencies since the shelter opened on Nov. 16, 2024.

• Bylaw: Calls decreased by 61% within the broader industrial area, also partly attributed to proactive patrols. 
• Fire: Calls decreased by 12% compared to the same period last year.
• RCMP: Calls decreased by 2% overall.

Of the 91 individuals who stayed at the shelter: 

• 54 reported being from Penticton (born or raised here).
• 32 had foster care experience and three were between the ages of 19-27. 
• 12 have transitioned to permanent housing.
• 5 individuals left the shelter to seek further treatment.

Also, dedicated staff from Interior Health provided 267 wound care services at the shelter, 30 mental health and substance use connections, and 60 primary care contacts, preventing emergency hospital visits that may have been necessary if sheltering on the street.

BC Housing has provided bridging funding for the shelter to continue operating until the end of May while working on longer-term arrangements.

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Our Official Community Plan includes a goal to “increase housing affordability across the housing spectrum from subsidized, social housing to home-ownership options.”

Policies that will achieve this goal include:

• Working with partners such as BC Housing and non-market and market developers.
• Maximizing the housing potential of existing land.
• Supporting innovative models of affordable housing, such as modular, adaptive re-use and through technical and regulatory support.
• Continuing the efficient processing of residential development and building permits.
• Monitoring the vacation rental program to ensure short-term rentals are not having an adverse effect on rental housing.

A report of Penticton's social services with HelpSeeker Technologies and 100 More Homes Penticton gives a comprehensive review of the community's social infrastructure, particularly those services related to housing and homelessness.

The report of three supportive housing facilities highlights the challenges faced by Penticton:

• The need for full 24/7 wraparound services at existing supportive housing facilities
• The need for more effective and accessible treatment and recovery options
• The need for an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team in Penticton

Read the Supportive Housing Review Report

Containing  many  anecdotes  and  personal  stories  of  lived  experience, as  well  as  survey  and  other  data, the No Where Home report  outlines  the  unique challenges  of  youth faced  with  homelessness  in  Penticton.  The report  outlines the  methodology  for  its creation,  partners  involved  and  includes  10  recommendations  / objectives  for  improvement,  including:  

1.  Meaningfully  engaging  youth voice  (decision  making, development  of  solutions) 2.  Creating  and  maintaining  a  strong, community  leadership  structure 3.  Implementing effective  prevention  strategies 4.  Creating a  continuum of  housing options for  youth 5.  Increasing  intra-partner  collaboration 6.  Educating  and  enhancing  awareness 7.  Implementing evidence-based  and  trauma  informed  practices 8.  Increasing  access  to  a  range of  services  and  supports 9.  Increasing  support  for  families  with at-risk  youth   10.  Using  data  and  evaluation  to  inform  our  decisions

No Where to Go Report

On March 2, 2021, Penticton City Council asked the Safety and Security Advisory Committee to develop shelter and supportive housing location selection guidelines. The Committee discussed the guidelines over three meetings, and made a recommendation to Penticton City Council to adopt the guidelines. On May 18, 2021, Council adopted the guidelines based on the Committee’s recommendation. If you have questions about the guidelines, please contact Social Development.

100 Homes Penticton

The City of Penticton is a partner with 100 Homes Penticton, an initiative to end chronic homelessness. Since 2016, they have housed more than 145 people experiencing homelessness in our community. To find out more about the work they’re doing, or to donate, please visit the dedicated United Way webpage.

Other Agencies 

The City works closely with the following agencies to ensure adequate and affordable housing is available to the residents of Penticton.

• Aboriginal Housing Management Association, 1-888-921-2462
• South Okanagan Brain Injury Society, 250-490-0613
• Penticton and District Society for Community Living, 250-490-0200 
• SAFER (Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters), 1-800-257-7756