Banff Is Building 75 Below-Market Rentals, But Who Gets First Access?

For Banff residents waiting for a more affordable place to call home, 75 new rental apartments on Wolf Street could offer some relief.

But who gets one will depend on where they stand on the Banff Housing Corporation’s existing waitlist, with units offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

The downtown housing project at 50 Wolf Street, near the Banff Community Health Centre and the Banff Canoe Docks, was officially named The Wolf Willow by council on Sept. 8.

The Wolf Willow will include 32 studio and 43 one-bedroom rentals and 15 two-bedroom homes for sale at restricted prices across two four-storey buildings.

The Town expects the two buildings to be completed by the end of 2027.

The Banff Housing Corporation (BHC), the Town-owned agency that runs Banff's below-market rental and ownership homes, will manage the units in the new development.

“The Town of Banff has a goal to eliminate the housing shortfall by 2035; we want people who work here to be able to live here,” Sharon Oakley, the Town of Banff’s manager of housing sustainability, told Bow Valley Insider in an email.

How To Get On The Rental Waitlist

For those hoping to secure a home at The Wolf Willow, the first step is getting on the Banff Housing Corporation’s waitlist.

Applicants must register with BHC and be approved for its rental program, while those interested in purchasing one of the 15 price-restricted homes must join a separate ownership list.

BHC can approve a completed application the same day it is received. For renters, their place on the waitlist is determined by the date their application was approved.

Tenant selection is expected to begin in spring or summer 2027, with tenants moving in by the end of 2027, according to Darren Veres, BHC managing director.

However, there is no separate rental waitlist for The Wolf Willow.

"The BHC has one waitlist for all units within the rental portfolio. Applicants on the waitlist are offered units across all BHC rental properties on a first-come, first-served basis," said Veres.

What The New Apartments Mean For Wait Times

For rentals, BHC has a waitlist of about 300 households seeking studio, one- and two-bedroom units, and applicants can be eligible for several different unit types.

BHC’s website estimates the current wait at two years for studios and one-bedroom apartments and three years for two-bedroom units, counted from the date of application approval.

BHC’s current rental stock includes 133 rental units of various types, including just 26 studios.

The 75 new apartments, including 32 studios, will bring BHC's rental inventory to 208 units, an increase of roughly 56 percent.

"The 75 new rental units in Wolf Willow will help reduce pressure on the waitlist, but it is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of how many months it will decrease by," said Veres.

According to BHC’s website, annual rental turnover between 2019 and 2025 ranged from a high of 57 units in 2020 to a low of 22 in 2024.

The Wolf Willow’s new units will represent about two years of average turnover in BHC's existing rental housing stock.

According to Veres, the Wolf Willow development is "not expected to change" the two-bedroom waitlist, as all of the new two-bedroom units will be for sale.

How Much Will Rent Cost?

Rental rates for the 75 apartments have yet to be determined. Although the project's construction budget and funding have been finalized, the terms of its long-term loan are still being worked out.

The Town's project page indicates rents and sale prices will be established in 2026.

Long-term borrowing for the project is about $18.4 million and is to be fully repaid through rental revenue over the 50-year term of the loan.

"While the overall budget may be finalized, the final borrowing terms are still being confirmed and may fluctuate based on the lender, which will in turn determine the final rental rates needed to service the debt and support the long-term operation of the building," said Veres.

Units will have minimum and maximum income thresholds based on an affordability principle that rent should generally not exceed 32 percent of household income.

BHC uses this number instead of the more commonly referenced 30 percent because its rents include utilities.

Eight of the studio units will be priced at 60 percent of median market rent and offer more options for people with incomes at the lower end of BHC’s eligible income range.

The income qualifiers and allocation for the eight lower-priced studios "have not yet been determined and will be shared with community when finalized," Veres explained.

BHC's current 2026 rents are $940 a month for studio apartments and $1,225 for a one-bedroom, including utilities.

Veres would not say whether rents at The Wolf Willow will be similar, saying rates will depend on the project's financing, which is still being finalized.

Who Qualifies For A Below-Market Rental?

Potential renters will need to prove eligibility before joining the waitlist.

The most important eligibility requirement is meeting Parks Canada's 'need to reside' rules, which generally mean working in the park at a job that requires you to be on-site, running a business in the park or being a qualifying retiree. Spouses and dependants of eligible residents also qualify.

An applicant must also meet minimum and maximum income thresholds for different unit types.

BHC’s current minimum income threshold for studio units is $31,200, with a maximum of $59,378. For one-bedroom units, the minimum is $45,942, and the maximums are $77,376 for one income and $95,172 for two incomes.

According to BHC, thresholds for The Wolf Willow aren’t yet set.

Renters must also work at least 30 hours a week in Banff, although exceptions apply to some retirees and people receiving disability benefits.

Applicants must not own property between Lake Louise and Kananaskis and must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents or valid work permit holders.

Applicants must provide their most recent notice of assessment, three months of pay stubs or an employment letter, photo ID and proof of legal status.

No priority is given to rental applicants except for the four fully accessible ground-floor units, which are offered first to people with mobility issues, people over 65 looking to age in place and people caring for a family member over 65.

What About The 15 Homes For Sale?

Renting isn’t the only option at The Wolf Willow. The development will also include 15 price-restricted, two-bedroom homes on the top two floors of the West Building.

Those hoping to purchase one will need to go through a separate application and selection process.

"The sales of these 15 units will be similar to the sales of the 33 units in the BHC-managed Aster Apartments. People register to be in the BHC list and are able to demonstrate their eligibility. There will be a form of lottery of people on the list who indicate interest in these 15 properties. The list will be ordered by the lottery and people who are in the top 15 will be given the opportunity to proceed," said Oakley.

About 600 people are on BHC's ownership waitlist.

The costs of the units aren’t yet determined, but Oakley said a price range should be available early in 2027. BHC's website says its price-restricted homes sell for 20 to 30 per cent below market value.

"The cost of the 15 homes will not be known until closer to construction completion, because they are sold near to the cost of construction (no mark up cost that occurs in the open market)," Oakley said. "Although we have the cost budgeted for the whole development, the balance between different areas will affect final cost to the for-sale units."

According to BHC’s website, owners sign a sublease that requires them to live in the home full time, keep their park eligibility, follow strict rules on renting it out, and agree that resale prices can rise no more than two per cent a year over the owner's purchase price to keep them below market value.

How Will Buyers Be Selected?

Sales are expected to begin in early summer 2027, with priority given to first-time homebuyers, according to Oakley.

However, the full details of the lottery selection process have yet to be announced.

Jason Darrah, the Town of Banff’s director of communications and marketing, said residents will have access to the selection criteria once they are finalized.

"The selection processes will be fully documented and published online and promoted. It is several weeks away," he told Bow Valley Insider.

BHC has used a points system in the past to rank buyers, awarding points for years lived in Banff and the Bow Valley, dependants and single parenthood, according to its open house materials for the project.

It isn’t clear whether the same system and criteria will be used to select buyers at The Wolf Willow.

When units in the Aster Apartments went on sale in January 2022, 114 households applied for consideration.

Banff's Wider Housing Challenge

Oakley said Banff is short 700 to 1,000 homes of all types, and its land base, set federally, is the same as it was in 1990.

"Although the Town of Banff has changed density capacity that has stimulated the creation of more than 600 new homes in development in the last two years, we will still have much fewer homes available than the demand. We have had a shortage since the incorporation of the Town," Oakley said.

The buildings are currently under construction, with the structure of both buildings slated to be finished in November, according to key milestones on the Town’s project page.

The East Building, which contains only rental units, is named Paintbrush House, and the West Building, which contains some rentals as well as all 15 two-bedroom units available for purchase, is named Yarrow House.

The project was subdivided into two lots by the Municipal Planning Commission on Sept. 2 to meet federal and provincial grant requirements for the rental units while allowing the ownership units to be sold separately.

"There is ample time for people to register with the BHC to be in the list ahead of the lottery selection stage," Oakley said.

Rental rates, sale prices and final buyer selection rules have yet to be announced.

In the meantime, residents interested in renting or purchasing a home at The Wolf Willow can register with the Banff Housing Corporation at banffhousing.ca.