Housing Task force report is the blueprint to build housing supply

Ontario is in urgent need of new housing supply. We must act decisively with innovative and creative solutions that can help bring more housing including purpose-built rental to market so all Ontarians can find a good, affordable home. When the Ontario Government announced the creation of a Housing Affordability Task Force in December, it represented a welcome step toward finding those solutions. While 1.5 million new homes in the next ten years is an ambitious goal, this report represents a sensible roadmap to achieving it.

For years, building new housing has been subjected to ever-increasing barriers that drive up costs and impact the viability of developments. Purpose-built rental projects have been disproportionately impacted resulting in a supply gap of 200,000 units over the next decade. FRPO has advocated for many of the measures contained in the report that address as-of-right zoning, increased density, reducing red tape, speeding up the approvals process and prioritizing skilled trades to encourage the development of purpose-built rental housing in Ontario.

Out of date zoning is one of the biggest impediments to creating much needed housing supply.?Applying for a zoning by-law amendment can add more than 18 months to the process in some large municipalities where labour and cost of materials are constantly increasing. FRPO is pleased the Task Force recommended “as of right” zoning of six to 11 storeys on streets served by public transit. This is the right place to drive the development of mid-rise buildings and promote “missing middle” housing options.?

Navigating approvals through local municipalities, provincial agencies, conservation authorities and other commenting entities pose significant challenges to the construction of new housing.?Feedback is often inconsistent, and at times, at odds between some of the approval or commenting bodies. A single approvals facilitator will improve the time it takes to navigate the multiple layers of government when building a project.

Streamlining zoning and other approvals are a vital part of a successful housing strategy, but without access to adequate labour, projects won’t come to market at the rate we need them to. The labour shortage is real and well documented in the development industry. FRPO has called on the government to prioritize skilled trades and expand the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, so we are pleased see a recommendation in the Task Force report that addresses this.

These recommendations will encourage more housing supply of all types including purpose-built rental which is essential to combating the housing supply crisis. The time to act is now, and FRPO encourages all levels of government and stakeholders to work together to implement these recommendations. Future generations are depending on it.