Latest news with #OntarioHousing
CBC
15-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ontario budget forecasts fewer housing starts in 2025
According to Ontario's new budget, housing starts in 2025 are projected to be around 2,800 units lower than in 2024. Alex Beheshti, senior researcher at Missing Middle Initiative, discusses what the projections mean for the future of homes in the province.
CTV News
12-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario to table bill to speed up home building as 1.5M target not on track
Ontario's housing minister introduced legislation Monday intended to speed up the construction of new homes, as he admitted the province isn't currently on track to meet its goal of getting 1.5 million homes built over 10 years. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack said the target has not been forgotten, but conceded there are challenges. 'We've got some pretty strong headwinds,' he said at a press conference to announce his bill. 'It's a goal. But frankly, I'm focused more on — and our team is focused on — the next 12 to 24 months, because if it stays the way it is now, we'll never get there. We have to make immediate changes.' Data published recently by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation showed that housing starts in Ontario in March were down 46 per cent, year over year, for communities with 10,000 or more people. Flack's bill would reduce the scope and number of studies municipalities can require for new developments, speed up certain minor variances and standardize and streamline fees developers pay that municipalities use to fund housing-enabling infrastructure such as water and sewer lines. As well, it would allow municipalities to more easily reduce development charges, allow residential builders to pay those fees at the time of occupancy instead of when a permit is issued, and exempt long-term care homes from the fees in order to spur their development. Scott Andison, CEO of the Ontario Home Builders' Association, said that when the province's municipalities all have potentially different application and development charge requirements, it slows down the home building process. 'In the absence of a common application process, builders must retool their application process in response to potentially 444 different application requirements and navigate significantly different pathways to get to a single goal — approval to build or renovate a home needed by Ontario families,' he said. The bill would also extend the power for granting Minister's Zoning Orders, which override municipal bylaws, beyond the municipal affairs and housing minister to include the minister of infrastructure when it comes to transit-oriented communities. It is a tool the province's auditor general has raised concerns with in the past, noting that the province's process for MZOs can give the appearance of preferential treatment for some requests. The Progressive Conservative government used MZOs 114 times from 2019 to 2023, which is a 17-fold increase in usage from the previous 20 years, the auditor found. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said the use of MZOs should be curtailed, not expanded. 'You don't need another minister's hands in the Ministerial Zoning Orders,' she said. 'We've seen this government's track record, and we've seen the abuse that there can be, and this is just yet another opportunity by broadening the power and increasing the number of ministers who can now issue MZOs. This is a really huge concern.' Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma said the move will help get more housing built. 'We're just trying to be more efficient, but we'll also continue working with the hard working (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing) staff,' she said. 'We want to be flexible. We want to be nimble. I have MZOs that I'd like to issue this year.' The bill would also cap the number of affordable units a municipality can require in certain residential developments at five per cent in order to make projects more viable, but Crombie said it would lead to a reduction in the availability of affordable housing. As well, the bill would standardize construction requirements and provide clarity that municipalities can't create construction standards beyond the building code. Developers and builders have expressed frustration at municipalities that create additional requirements, such as Toronto's green building standard. 'At a time when there are so many challenges facing the residential construction industry, these changes are necessary and essential as they will simplify the approvals process and make the homebuilding process more efficient,' Richard Lyall, president of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario, said of the bill as a whole. The government also announced Monday that it will add $400 million to two funds municipalities use to build housing-enabling infrastructure. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 12, 2025.
CTV News
12-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Ontario to announce legislation to speed up new home construction
Watch Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack discusses plans to speed up new home construction in Ontario.
Globe and Mail
12-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Builders optimistic about housing bill to accelerate home building
Toronto, Ontario, May 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) is optimistic about the provincial government's proposed legislation, Protecting Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, announced this morning by the Hon. Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. OHBA CEO, Scott Andison, represented the residential construction industry at the announcement, welcoming the government's crisis-led approach to tackling Ontario's housing shortage. The proposed legislation targets two of the most significant drivers of high housing costs: development charges and permitting and approval delays. Builders across Ontario have long advocated for action on these barriers, which in many cases add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of a new home. The bill comes after months of consultation with OHBA representatives and other industry experts who shared data-driven evidence on the impact of development charges and delays. 'I'm very pleased by the level of engagement and representation from industry that was part of this process,' said Andison. 'We need all hands on deck to tackle the housing crisis, and I'm happy to know that Minister Flack understands that and sees value in having industry be part of the conversation. This legislation is a strong step towards boosting supply, restoring affordability, and protecting jobs in the residential construction sector.' In particular, the bill aims to stimulate new home construction by implementing policies developed with municipalities to standardize development charges. Currently, government fees and taxes account for roughly 30-35% of the cost of a new home, making the government at different levels the biggest financial beneficiary of a new home purchase. Development charges account for about half of that cost and have increased dramatically over the last decade. The Greater Toronto Area has the highest development charges in North America, which have risen 176% since 2011, continuing to rise while we face the worst housing crisis the province has ever seen. Builders have long called for provincial action to reduce them and are happy to have been represented in the discussions that led to this legislation. OHBA is optimistic that this is a step towards driving down development costs and making houses more affordable for Ontarians. The bill also looks to streamline the permitting and approval process for new developments by bringing consistency to a process that varies across the 444 municipalities in Ontario. This includes standardizing how local roads are designed and built to speed up construction and reduce costs for builders and home buyers. Like development charges, delays at the municipal level have a tangible impact on house prices, adding thousands of dollars per day to project costs that ultimately inflate the price of housing. 'Ontario's current housing framework is failing to meet the needs of average households, with homeownership increasingly out of reach and younger generations leaving the Greater Toronto Area in search of attainable living options,' said Kirstin Jensen, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy, and Relationships at OHBA. 'The legislative package introduced by Minister Flack represents a strong and necessary advancement toward restoring attainable housing in the province. Continued leadership of this nature—anchored in evidence-based policy and strong government-industry collaboration—will be critical to meaningfully addressing Ontario's housing supply and affordability challenges.' This legislation represents the collaborative, systemic approach that OHBA has called for. We look forward to seeing the full details of the bill when it is introduced in the legislature this afternoon. A member release outlining the bill's details and implications for the residential construction industry will be issued following the introduction. -30- About the Ontario Home Builders' Association Founded in 1962, the Ontario Home Builders' Association (OHBA) is the voice of the residential construction industry in Ontario. It represents over 4,000 member companies in the home building, land development, professional renovation, and professional services sectors through 28 local chapter associations across the province. OHBA advocates on behalf of its members to key stakeholders, provides member benefits and training, and promotes innovation and professionalism within the residential construction industry.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ontario to table new bill aimed at speeding up development of homes, roads and transit
Ontario's housing minister has announced a plan to speed up new home construction while also lowering costs for developers through new legislation set to be tabled on Monday. The legislation, aimed at solving Ontario's housing crisis, would also fast-track road and transit projects in the province and comes as the Ford government struggles to meet its goal of building 1.5 million homes. "Through our proposed legislation, we plan to cut red tape, speed up approvals and reduce charges," said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack at a news conference in Vaughan Monday. "And most importantly, make it more affordable to build and buy a home in Ontario." Flack announced the new bill Monday alongside Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish and Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca — days before the Ontario government is set to release its provincial budget. Last week, Flack hinted at the bill, garnering skepticism from opposition leaders including NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who said she is concerned about reports from Global News that the bill could extend the controversial MZO (Minister's Zoning Order) powers to Surma. Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said expanding the use of sweeping zoning orders does not guarantee housing will be built faster in Ontario, calling it "government overreach." Work on the new bill began with previous housing minister Paul Calandra and included consultations with developers and municipalities, Flack has said. In 2022, Premier Doug Ford pledged to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031, a target Ontario would need to build 100,000 homes a year to hit. But as recently as last October, the government's own fall economic statement showed the province is not on track to hit that level in 2025, 2026, or 2027.
