Municipal affordable housing initiatives in Ontario

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by | Published , updated Mar 7, 2024

The following are examples of incentive programs offered by select municipalities and regions in Ontario, including how many years the unit must be kept affordable (ie. how long the incentive lasts), and the minimum requirement (maximum rent) to still be considered affordable and therefore eligible.

Most municipalities give preference to projects that provide lower affordability thresholds (eg. 80% of AMR instead of AMR).

MunicipalityProgramsAffordabilityStatus
BarrieResidential unit incentive ($20,000 per unit or $10 per sqft)
Grants for:
-Application and development charges
-Building permit fees
-Tax increment based funding (5 years)
Provincial Policy
BellevilleDevelopment charge rebate
Building permit fee rebate
Tax increment equivalent rebate (10 years)
Second units (new $2,500, existing $500-$2500)
AMRProgram defunded in 2023 Operating Budget
CambridgePlanning application and building permit fee exemption
Development charge deferral (20 years)
Tax increment grant (20 years)
AMR
GuelphGrants of up to $70,000 per unit (20 years)Provincial Policy
KitchenerFor non-profit corporations:
Development application fee exemption
Building permit fee exemption
Development charge deferral
80% of AMR
OrilliaGrants (20 years) for:
-Development charges
-Purchase price of land
-Planning application, building permit and review fees (up to $25,000)
80% of AMR (rental), 30% of income (ownership)
PeterboroughTax increment grant (10 years)
Exemption for:
-Development charges (20 years)
-Planning fees (20 years)
-Property tax (10 years) (90% of AMR)
AMR
Region of WaterlooCapital grants (25 years)
Development charge grant
Lower multi-residential property tax
rent + utilities < AMR
SudburyResidential unit incentive ($20,000 per unit or $10 per sqft)
Development charge reduction/exemption
Building permit fee rebate (up to $5,000)
Tax increment equivalent grant (5 years)
Second unit incentive (50% up to $50,000)
AMR

York Region allocated 6% of their 2021 capital budget to support their housing corporation’s strategic plan. 74% of that portion will go towards constructing 500 new affordable housing units by 2025 with funding from senior levels of government, Regional reserves, debt that is repaid from Housing York Inc. revenues (mainly rent), and development charges.

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