Province passes legislation to cut red tape and build more housing

The Voice of Canada News

Ontario’s government is helping to build more homes that meet the needs of people in every part of the province. Today, the province passed the More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 – comprehensive legislation to tackle the housing crisis.

“Our government wants to put affordable home ownership in reach of more Ontario families, and provide more people with the opportunity to live closer to where they work,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “That’s why we consulted widely and acted swiftly to face the housing crisis we inherited head on. This legislation will make it easier to build more homes, more quickly, giving people more housing options and helping to bring prices down.”

More Homes, More Choice: Ontario’s Housing Supply Action Plan outlines legislative, policy and regulatory changes across multiple ministries. It cuts red tape, makes costs more predictable, encourages different types of housing and promotes innovative new approaches to housing design and home ownership. More Homes, More Choice also protects Ontarians’ health and safety, the environment – including the Greenbelt – employment and agricultural lands, and our rich cultural heritage.

It will help build the right types of homes in the right places, including rental housing and secondary suites – from basement apartments to apartment buildings and non-profit co-ops. As more rental units are built, tenants will have more options and rents should come down.

“For too long, the government has stood in the way of increasing housing supply. We are turning home ownership from a dream into a reality for more Ontario families,” said Clark. “And we are making it easier to build new rentals, so tenants can find an apartment they can afford.”

More Homes, More Choice will support faster development near transit, so people can spend less time commuting and more time with family and friends. It will also boost the economy, as the residential housing sector is an important driver of economic growth and a source of job creation. Working together, we can create more housing, strengthen our economy and help ensure the hard-working people of Ontario have homes that meet their needs and their budgets.

Quick Facts

• 83 percent of Ontario households couldn’t afford the average price of a resale home in 2018.
• It takes approximately 10 years to complete either a low-rise or high-rise development project in the Greater Toronto Area.
• Over the last 20 years, less than seven percent of all housing built in Ontario was purpose-built rentals. The province’s overall rental vacancy rate in 2018 was 1.8 percent, close to historical lows.