Experts suggest ways for increasing housing supply

According to a housing affordability task force, created by the provincial government in 2021, Ontario has to act fast and actively in order to build more properties and solve the province’s housing crisis, by raising density and reducing consultations and appeal possibilities.

The task force presented a report with 55 recommendations aimed at providing people in Ontario with affordable properties. They include among others a goal of building 1.5 million homes over 10 years.

During the previous ten years, real estate prices in Ontario have almost tripled, outpacing income growth significantly, the report says. However, the province is 1.2 million away from the G7 average. Today, local businesses and public services are facing issues with attracting and keeping workers because of a lack of nearby housing. Such a situation affects the national economy negatively, while long commutes are increasing air pollution level.

The report says Ontario has focused on ways to “cool” the real estate market for too long, but it will not satisfy the housing needs.

“The main factor is supply,” – the task force noted.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark is sure he can enact some of the solutions before the spring election.

“It’s a very complicated issue, and there’s no silver bullet,” – he said.

Many of the recommendations include ways to reduce the possibilities of delaying development by NIMBYism (not in my backyard), which the task force calls a “major obstacle” to building more properties. They say it disproportionately affects young people of colour and marginalized people.

“Neighbourhood pushback delays the approval process, raises costs and discourages investment in real estate. Moreover, it keeps away new residents,” – the report says.

The task force advises to get rid of municipal policies that prioritize preserving “neighbourhood character” (it often prevents building even simple suites on existing properties where the rules otherwise allow it), to exempt projects of not more than 10 units from public consultation, and to limit municipalities from consultations beyond the requirements of the Planning Act.

Another obstacle on the way of construction, according to the report, is pressure to designate buildings as “heritage”. The deal is that certain municipalities list thousands of properties as having “potential” heritage value. In addition to it, neighbours tend to demand a building gets such a status as soon as a development is offered.

The task force also offers changes to the Ontario Land Tribunal, where just one person can appeal a development and delay it for years by paying a $400 fee.

The report suggests that potential appellants should have to ask permission to appeal, and the right of appeal should be removed for projects with at least 30% of affordable housing. Moreover, third-party appeals should require a $10,000 fee.

Additional funding is necessary for the tribunal in order to increase staffing and solve 1,300 cases, the task force recommended.

One more issue requiring changes are municipal zoning rules – they need to allow more constructions. The report says 70% of the residential land in Toronto is limited to single-detached or semi-detached houses.

“As one person said, ‘My neighbour can destroy what was there to build a gigantic house, but I’m not allowed to add a basement suite to my home,”‘ – the task force pointed.

Ontario allowed secondary suites back in 2019, but municipalities are still limiting their use. As a result, the total number of secondary suites has fallen during the previous three years.

Municipal approval steps need to be eliminated for residential housing of up to four units, secondary suites, multi-tenant housing, garden suites and laneway suites, and in case of converting unused commercial properties to residential.

The task force says if the provincial density targets aren’t reached in two years, zoning for unlimited height and density around transit stations need to be allowed.

The chair of the task force was Jake Lawrence from Scotiabank. Members also included developers and the CEO of Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services.