Introduction
Ontario is continuing its efforts to streamline housing development processes through the Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act, which was announced on April 10th. This act marks the 13th initiative since 2018 aimed at reducing bureaucratic overhead and the latest package is focused on removing barriers to housing construction.
As the province faces a critical housing shortage and its goal to build over 1.5 million new homes by 2031, the Government is committed to making it easier to build homes without bureaucracy getting in the way. This bill includes four main pillars: Building Homes Faster at a Lower Cost, Prioritizing Infrastructure for Ready-to-Go Housing Projects, Improved Consultation and Greater Certainty to Get Homes Built Faster, and Building More Types of Homes for More People.
1. Building Homes Faster at a Lower Cost
Ontario’s latest reforms introduce substantial updates to building codes and zoning processes:
- Elimination of Parking Minimums: Near transit stations to allow the market to determine parking needs, potentially saving $2,000 to $100,000 per parking space.
- Mass Timber Construction: Expands permissible construction up to 18 stories using mass timber, promoting sustainable building practices.
- Building Code Harmonization: Updates the Ontario Building Code to enhance consistency with the National Construction Codes, increasing harmonization from 71% to 77%.
- Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs): Streamlines the application process for MZOs by removing the CHIA tool, clarifying submission expectations, and enhancing public consultation processes to ensure transparency and informed decision-making.
2. Prioritizing Infrastructure for Ready-To-Go Housing Projects
To ensure that housing developments proceed without delays, Ontario is implementing measures to optimize the use of existing municipal infrastructure:
- “Use It or Lose It” Policy: Empowers municipal staff to reallocate servicing to shovel-ready projects if initial developments stall.
- Lapsing Provisions: Mandates that developments start within a set timeframe to prevent long-term stalling, with municipalities given the autonomy to determine the exact period required.
- Development Charge Adjustments: Streamlines the extension of existing Development Charge (DC) by-laws to accelerate the transition from approval to construction.
3. Improved consultation and greater certainty to get homes built faster
The act aims to modernize and expedite the consultation and approval processes:
- Digital and Modernized Consultations: Enhances public engagement through digital platforms and diverse media channels, while limiting third-party appeals to key stakeholders only.
- Streamlined Appeals: Makes pre-application consultations voluntary and restores appeal rights for certain zoning actions to provide greater flexibility and reduce delays.
4. Building more types of homes for more people
To meet diverse housing needs, the act includes provisions to encourage the construction of various types of housing:
- Exemptions for Educational Institutions: Allows publicly-assisted universities and potentially other educational institutions to develop student housing and community-centric facilities more swiftly.
- Standardized and Modular Housing Designs: Introduces regulatory reforms to expedite approvals for standardized housing designs, drawing on successful models from other jurisdictions like British Columbia.
What the Government is saying:
“These proposed measures would get more homes built faster by ending needless delays and cutting red tape to get shovels in the ground sooner. Embracing innovative factory-made housing solutions like modular homes and mass timber will accelerate homebuilding, improve housing affordability for Ontario families, and support home-grown industries that provide quality jobs for Ontarians.”
- Rob Flack, Associate Minister of Housing
“These measures recognize the struggles that our municipal partners have faced in building homes and are targeted at removing those obstacles…”
- Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
What the Opposition is saying:
“The government continues to ignore top recommendations of its own Housing Affordability Task Force, including legalizing fourplexes and four-storey multiplexes in all neighbourhoods as of right… This is a weak bill from a government lacking in the bold vision and leadership that is needed in order to do what they should have done years ago: build at least 1.5 million homes by 2031”. – Marit Styles, NDP Leader
What others are saying:
“These expanded provisions for mass timber will enhance the innovation already happening in the province, offering designers, developers and municipalities the opportunity to pursue high-performance, low-carbon wood construction in a greater number of buildings”. – The Canadian Wood Council
“The Minister was clear that he recognizes the struggles municipalities have faced in building homes, and that a one-size-fits-all approach is not the answer. The removal of barriers and streamlining of approvals processes will go a long way to getting shovels in the ground as we work to address the housing crisis in our communities. We look forward to continuing to work with the province where challenges remain, and to ensure that as they develop new processes and initiatives to support housing development, cities will be properly funded to limit the burden on the existing property tax base.” – Marianne Meed Ward, Chair – Ontario’s Big City Mayors