February 08, 2022
Ontario has published a report from the Housing Affordability Task Force, which highlights expert recommendations for additional measures to increase the supply of market housing to address the housing crisis. The Task Force is part of Ontario’s ongoing three-part consultation with industry, municipalities, and the public to help the government identify and implement real solutions to address the housing supply crisis.
THE FOLLOWING:
The Task Force report’s recommendations include five main areas to quickly increase the supply of market housing, to meet a goal of adding 1.5 million homes over the next 10 years:
- Make changes to planning policies and zoning to allow for greater density and increase the variety of housing.
- Reduce and streamline urban design rules to lower costs of development.
- Depoliticize the approvals process to address NIMBYism and cut red tape to speed up housing.
- Prevent abuse of the appeal process and address the backlog at the Ontario Land Tribunal by prioritizing cases that increase housing.
- Align efforts between all levels of government to incentivize more housing.
Additionally, the Task Force’s report makes other recommendations to increase housing supply over the long term, including digitizing and modernizing the approvals and planning process, growing the skilled labour workforce, and encouraging new pathways to homeownership.
Read the report from the Housing Affordability Task Force to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Habitat for Humanity Ontario Caucus Open Letter Response
Click here to read the response to Premier Doug Ford and Minister Clark Mah from Habitat Habitat for Humanity’s 24 local organizations in Ontario regarding the recently released report by the Task Force on Housing Affordability. The letter notes the recommendations in the report that apply to the not-for-profit affordable housing sector, as well as recommendations that would help the growth of affordable housing across the province.
The Habitat for Humanity Ontario Caucus thanks the Ontario Government for including two representatives on the Task Force who are from the not-for-profit affordable housing sector, including Ene Underwood, CEO of Habitat for Humanity – GTA. While the Task Force was directed by the provincial government to focus on market housing, their expertise in the affordable housing sector helped shape the recommendations.