Ontario Construction News staff writer
The West End Home Builders’ Association (WE HBA) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) call Ontario’s new housing legislation “a once-in-a-generation housing plan” that will make it easier to build new homes quicker, reduce housing costs and cut red tape.
“The West End Home Builders’ Association is fully supportive of landmark legislation that moves the needle to significantly increase housing supply and address Southern Ontario’s growing housing crisis,” said Mike Collins-Williams, CEO of the WE HBA. “Building on the recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force report, the provincial government has proposed bold reforms to encourage all types of new housing to be built faster in communities across the province.”
On average, government fees, taxes and charges account for 25% of the cost of a new home, adding up to $250,000 to the cost of a typical single-family home. Housing approvals in Ontario take longer than in any other jurisdiction in North America. In some municipalities, it can take over three years to approve new housing projects, which adds a further $50,000 to $100,000 in costs to new homeowners.
The More Homes, Built Faster Act will help get Ontario back on track towards housing attainability and affordability, by:
- incenting municipalities to meet legislated timelines for new housing approvals
- adding more transparency on the municipal fees and charges imposed on new homebuyers
- designating more lands for growth
“The current housing supply and affordability crisis is a man-made problem that was created in the course of a decade and a half and will take time to fix,” said Luca Bucci, CEO of the OHBA.
“It starts today with Ontario’s new big, bold housing plan . . . that increases accountability for municipalities in enabling the housing supply the province needs, increases transparency on the funds collected on the back of new homes, caps the fees to the economic conditions of the day and removes roadblocks to adding gentle density.
“Put simply, the government has delivered the regulatory framework to enable necessary change.”