Toronto city council has approved a plan to support the construction of 20,000 new rental homes, both market and affordable, delivered under the Purpose-Built Rental Homes Incentives stream. The new plan hopes to entice private developers using financial incentives such as a deferral of development charges, a property tax reduction, and waived taxes and fees for affordable rental units. According to the City, the goal is to support the building of up to 16,000 new purpose-built market units and a minimum of 4,000 affordable units in an effort to tackle the housing crisis.

“We need to build more rental homes now,” Chow said, addressing reporters ahead of the vote on November 13, 2024.  “We can’t afford to have the housing pipeline dry up because of the difficult market conditions.”

Under the plan’s first phase, the City has committed to building 7,000 rental homes through its own resources, after which it intends to call on the provincial and federal governments to provide funding to support the remaining 13,000 rental homes.

The new rental homes incentives stream is offered under the City’s Rental Supply Housing Program plan. To qualify for the incentives, projects will need to include at least 20 per cent of units as affordable rental homes, which meet the city’s new income-based definition of affordable housing, for a period of up to 99 years and for at least 40 years. Projects will also have to begin construction by the end of 2026.

For a more detailed look at the plan, visit: Agenda Item History – 2024.EX18.2