The West End Home Builders’ Association said it supports Ontario’s More Homes for Everyone Act and hopes all political parties will come together to quickly pass the legislation before June’s election. Photo credit: Pixabay/Paul Brennan
On Wednesday, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark announced the introduction of Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022.
The legislation is designed to make it easier and more affordable for Ontarians to purchase a home by cracking down on speculation, protecting homebuyers from predatory development practices, and accelerating development timelines.
The new measures outlined in the bill draw largely on recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force and the Provincial-Municipal Housing Summit held earlier this year with Ontario’s big city mayors, including Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger and Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward.
“Through consultations with the public, the first ever Provincial-Municipal Housing Summit, and the Housing Affordability Task Force, we heard that speculative behavior in the market and long, drawn-out approval processes are making it too difficult for Ontarians to realize the dream of home ownership,” said Minister Clark in a statement.
“Our government’s plan proposes smart, targeted measures to protect consumers, and make the process work better and faster, help more Ontarians find the home that’s right for them and their families.”
The West End Home Builders’ Association (WE HBA), which represents nearly 300 member companies involved in land development and residential construction in Hamilton and Halton Region, said it supports the proposed legislation and hopes all political parties will come together to facilitate quick passage of the bill before the June 2022 Ontario election.
“The West End Home Builders’ Association is supportive of the measures proposed by the provincial government to speed up the planning process through the More Homes for Everyone Plan to address Southern Ontario’s growing housing crisis,” said WE HBA CEO Mike Collins-Williams.
“Building from the Housing Affordability Task Force report, this new legislation proposes efficient, targeted policies that recognize the need to get all kinds of new housing built faster in communities across the province.”
In February the average price for residential properties across the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB) market area was $1,104,163, an increase of 4.2 per cent over the previous month, and 30.3 per cent compared to February 2021.
The dramatic price increased was once again fueled by low supply and high demand.
Some of the concrete steps proposed by the More Homes for Everyone Act to make it easier and more affordable for Ontarians to purchase a home include:
Increasing the non-resident speculation tax rate to 20 per cent and expanding it beyond the Greater Golden Horseshoe to apply provincewide, as well as closing loopholes to fight tax avoidance.
Working with municipalities to identify and enhance measures that will crack down on land speculation.
Strengthening consumer protections for purchasers of new homes by doubling fines and extending building license suspensions to address unethical conduct by developers, while ensuring penalties for cancelled projects are aligned with the impact on homebuyers.
Supporting municipalities with resources, tools, and standards to provide timely review and adjudication processes by both extending legislated timelines for decisions while focusing the decision-making process.
Creating a new tool specifically designed to accelerate planning processes for municipalities that expedites approvals for housing and community infrastructure.
Investing more than $19 million to help the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) and the Landlord and Tenant Board to reduce current backlogs.
Conducting consultation on the concept of a multi-generational community.
Making it easier to build more community housing by making better use of provincially-owned lands for non-profit housing providers.
