Affordable housing
Falls wants in on rebate program...
Niagara Falls wants to be part of an affordable housing rebate program offered by the provincial government.
Late last year, the province announced it would rebate development charges on new, purposebuilt rental housing to encourage more construction.
Queen’s Park announced it will rebate up to $125 million in development charges over five years for priority purpose-built rental developments in municipalities with low vacancy rates or high tenant populations where affordable rentals are hard to find.
Todd Harrison, finance director for the City of Niagara Falls, said the province invited eight Niagara municipalities to apply, including Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland.
He said the province identified municipalities that met certain criteria, such as those who have affordable housing vacancy rates lower than what the province deemed to be acceptable.
“The Niagara region has a vacancy rate of 1.5 per cent — that means there’s not a lot of supply. The availability of affordable housing in Niagara is at a critical stage, simply because there’s not been enough product on the market.”
Harrison said interested municipalities are co-ordinating a joint application that would go through Niagara Region.
During this week’s meeting, Niagara Falls council approved a resolution designating the Region, being the housing service manager, as the administrator of the program and to submit an expression of interest on its behalf.
It would allow the Region to enter into a transfer payment agreement with the Ministry of Housing on behalf of the city; provide written confirmation from a person of appropriate authority of its willingness to act as program administrator on behalf of the city; and to work with the city in determining rental-housing development and units eligible to receive rebate funding under the program, planning approval timelines and any municipal incentives that may be available.
Harrison said the application period opens Friday and is due March 2.
“Obviously the application will be tailored to every municipality and we’ll be applying along with many other municipalities in Ontario for the funding,” he said.
“The funding is not a large amount, but it’s available and any little bit that can help would be useful.”
Harrison said if the application is successful, and if the province allocates funding on a proportional basis, Niagara could receive up to $2 million.
“These would be rebates of development charges, so first things first is we have to have building applications that are going to be providing that type of housing,” he said.
“We’ve had a couple planning applications in the mix that meets that need. It would be towards that and then it would also be for regional (development charges) as well within Niagara Falls.”
Municipalities collect development charges to help pay for infrastructure such as transit, water mains and roads — to meet the increased demand created by new development.
The province said providing rebates for development charges for new purpose-built rental housing is one of 16 comprehensive measures under Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan to bring stability to the real-estate market; protect renters and homeowners’ investments; increase housing supply; and help more people find a home that fits their budget.
Ministry of Housing research suggests that, of all the housing built during the last two decades, only six per cent was market-rental housing.
“We believe everyone deserves a place they can call home,” said Peter Milczyn, minister of housing and minister responsible for the poverty reduction strategy.
“Building more rental housing not only helps individuals and families find places to live, it creates strong, vibrant communities.”