Latest news with #MoreNeighboursToronto
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Toronto needs more housing. Are garden suites a potential solution?
The City of Toronto is hoping new measures to cut design costs and speed up permit approval times for laneway and garden suites may encourage homeowners to build more, but some advocates and experts say they're skeptical the structures could be a viable solution to the city's housing crunch. Mayor Olivia Chow announced on Friday that the city will provide free design plans for laneway and garden suites to cut costs and speed up permit approval times, in its latest bid to boost construction of new housing. The pre-approved plans are compliant with the Ontario Building Code and eliminate the need to hire an architect, she said. "It's simple: Toronto is growing and we must lower the cost of building homes and make it easier, and approve them faster," Chow said at a news conference Friday. But a limited number of properties in the city have backyards large enough to build these suites, said Stephanie Bertolo, board member of More Neighbours Toronto, a housing advocacy organization. "Anything that helps reduce the cost of development and gets things built faster is a win," Bertolo said. "Unfortunately I think that laneway housing and garden suites aren't going to be a big part of the solution to the housing affordability crisis." Bertolo said a better solution would be building more small apartment buildings or sixplexes to increase housing density across the city. The city first passed an as-of-right zoning bylaw for laneway suites in 2018, and for garden suites in 2022. But only 166 laneway suites and 114 garden suites have been completed since these bylaws were passed, Chow said on Friday. Bertolo said these numbers are a "drop in the bucket" compared to the housing needs across Toronto. WATCH | Laneway, garden suite designs among new city housing measures announced Friday: The city defines a laneway suite as a self-contained residential unit located on the same lot as a detached house, semi-detached house, townhouse or other low-rise house. It is typically located in the backyard next to a public laneway. A garden suite is similarly a self-contained living accommodation usually built in a backyard, but is not on a public lane. Garden and laneway suites typically range between 500 to 600 square feet, said Sarah Cipkar, founder and CEO of Resimate, a company that helps homeowners build in their backyard in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area and the Niagara region. Cipkar said her company is seeing demand from multigenerational families who want to build suites for aging parents or young adults who are struggling to enter the housing market. "It creates all these unique opportunities for families to be closer together," she said. Projects can cost between $200,000 to $350,000, she said. Cipkar said she would like the city make the free suite designs available to manufacturers, who can then build them off site. "Part of the issue with the pre-approved design catalogue is that they're not field-tested," she said. "Homeowners can't touch and feel them. They can just see them and they're like, 'maybe that's a good unit? I can't really tell." Susannah Bunce, an associate professor in the department of geography at the University of Toronto, said the intention behind the city's free designs are good as they provide a "guidebook" for homeowners and can streamline the approval process. But these suites are likely to be concentrated in wealthier neighbourhoods in Toronto that have wider and larger lots, rather than the downtown core, where more affordable housing is needed, she said. And without city programs in place to help out homeowners with expenses, such as a rebate or a forgivable loan program, she said these suites may not be rented out at affordable rates. "With the hidden costs that come with garden suite construction, then there is an incentive for homeowners to try and recoup the costs that they have put up front by renting out a unit at a higher rate," Bunce said. "It does then cut out a lot of people who are suffering from the affordable housing crisis in Toronto." Cipkar said St. Catherines is an example of a municipality that has successfully encouraged these backyard suites. She said the municipality has financial incentives to homeowners and also provides timelines for stages such as when homeowners can expect to receive a permit using pre-approved designs. The new measures come after city council voted last month to allow sixplexes in nine wards, with an option for the remaining 16 wards to opt-in at a later date. Staff had recommended sixplexes be permitted city-wide, but some councillors vehemently objected to the proposal. Other measures announced by Chow on Friday include expanded online applications for new housing units, which she said will reduce the time it takes for them to be processed.
CBC
06-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Toronto needs more housing. Are garden suites a potential solution?
Social Sharing The City of Toronto is hoping new measures to cut design costs and speed up permit approval times for laneway and garden suites may encourage homeowners to build more, but some advocates and experts say they're skeptical the structures could be a viable solution to the city's housing crunch. Mayor Olivia Chow announced on Friday that the city will provide free design plans for laneway and garden suites to cut costs and speed up permit approval times, in its latest bid to boost construction of new housing. The pre-approved plans are compliant with the Ontario Building Code and eliminate the need to hire an architect, she said. "It's simple: Toronto is growing and we must lower the cost of building homes and make it easier, and approve them faster," Chow said at a news conference Friday. But a limited number of properties in the city have backyards large enough to build these suites, said Stephanie Bertolo, board member of More Neighbours Toronto, a housing advocacy organization. "Anything that helps reduce the cost of development and gets things built faster is a win," Bertolo said. "Unfortunately I think that laneway housing and garden suites aren't going to be a big part of the solution to the housing affordability crisis." Bertolo said a better solution would be building more small apartment buildings or sixplexes to increase housing density across the city. The city first passed an as-of-right zoning bylaw for laneway suites in 2018, and for garden suites in 2022. But only 166 laneway suites and 114 garden suites have been completed since these bylaws were passed, Chow said on Friday. Bertolo said these numbers are a "drop in the bucket" compared to the housing needs across Toronto. WATCH | Laneway, garden suite designs among new city housing measures announced Friday: Toronto speeding up building permit approvals 2 days ago Duration 1:33 With zoning changes alone not prompting enough new construction, Toronto is rolling out a series of measures to boost housing. Company seeing demand from multigenerational families The city defines a laneway suite as a self-contained residential unit located on the same lot as a detached house, semi-detached house, townhouse or other low-rise house. It is typically located in the backyard next to a public laneway. A garden suite is similarly a self-contained living accommodation usually built in a backyard, but is not on a public lane. Garden and laneway suites typically range between 500 to 600 square feet, said Sarah Cipkar, founder and CEO of Resimate, a company that helps homeowners build in their backyard in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area and the Niagara region. Cipkar said her company is seeing demand from multigenerational families who want to build suites for aging parents or young adults who are struggling to enter the housing market. "It creates all these unique opportunities for families to be closer together," she said. Projects can cost between $200,000 to $350,000, she said. Cipkar said she would like the city make the free suite designs available to manufacturers, who can then build them off site. "Part of the issue with the pre-approved design catalogue is that they're not field-tested," she said. "Homeowners can't touch and feel them. They can just see them and they're like, 'maybe that's a good unit? I can't really tell." Suites likely to be built in wealthier areas: professor Susannah Bunce, an associate professor in the department of geography at the University of Toronto, said the intention behind the city's free designs are good as they provide a "guidebook" for homeowners and can streamline the approval process. But these suites are likely to be concentrated in wealthier neighbourhoods in Toronto that have wider and larger lots, rather than the downtown core, where more affordable housing is needed, she said. And without city programs in place to help out homeowners with expenses, such as a rebate or a forgivable loan program, she said these suites may not be rented out at affordable rates. "With the hidden costs that come with garden suite construction, then there is an incentive for homeowners to try and recoup the costs that they have put up front by renting out a unit at a higher rate," Bunce said. "It does then cut out a lot of people who are suffering from the affordable housing crisis in Toronto." Cipkar said St. Catherines is an example of a municipality that has successfully encouraged these backyard suites. She said the municipality has financial incentives to homeowners and also provides timelines for stages such as when homeowners can expect to receive a permit using pre-approved designs. The new measures come after city council voted last month to allow sixplexes in nine wards, with an option for the remaining 16 wards to opt-in at a later date. , but some councillors vehemently objected to the proposal. Other measures announced by Chow on Friday include expanded online applications for new housing units, which she said will reduce the time it takes for them to be processed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Ontario's 1.5M new homes target looks increasingly out of reach
The new Ontario budget foresees a slow pace for housing construction over the next three years, making it increasingly unlikely that Premier Doug Ford's government will achieve its target of 1.5 million new homes by 2031. The budget forecasts 71,800 housing starts in 2025, followed by 74,800 next year and 82,500 in 2027. There have been 260,000 actual housing starts in the three years since the target was set. So if you add in the projections for 2025 and 2026, the province would only be about one-quarter of the way toward its goal at the end of next year, the halfway point of the target timeline. To put it another way: construction in the final five years would need to average about 218,000 homes annually, more than double the pace of the first five years. "The government should acknowledge that it's clearly not going to make that target," said Eric Lombardi, president of More Neighbours Toronto, a volunteer-run housing advocacy organization. Lombardi describes the budget's measures on housing as ineffective and says that suggests the Ford government "has given up on its own housing goals and has no interest in really achieving its prior promises on this file." The biggest new measure related to housing in the 2025 budget involves adding $400 million to existing programs that fund municipal infrastructure for housing, such as water mains. There's also a commitment of $50 million over five years to boost the province's capacity in modular housing construction. The budget includes no changes to the centrepiece of the government's housing plan, what's called the Building Faster Fund. Announced in 2023, it promised to provide $1.2 billion over a three-year period to municipalities that achieve annual targets for new home construction starts. The province distributed only $280 million from the fund in 2024, its first year, after more than half of Ontario's municipalities failed to hit the housing start targets in 2023. The government hasn't updated its housing start tracker since October 2024. As of that point, nine months through the year, only 11 of 50 municipalities had reached their annual benchmark. CBC News asked a spokesperson for Housing Minister Rob Flack to explain why the tracker does not show the final figures for 2024, and when the numbers will be made public, but did not receive a response. On budget day, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the government remains committed to hitting the 1.5 million new homes target. "We're not going to relent on trying to achieve that goal," Bethlenfalvy said at a news conference. Housing slump predates Trump tariffs Bethlenfalvy said tariffs deserve a lot of the blame for the lowered projections for housing starts in 2025 and 2026, which are down more than 20 per cent from the forecasts in last year's budget. "Let's be clear, tariffs have impacted housing starts right around the world," he said. Ontario's housing construction slump, however, predates U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House and his imposition of tariffs. Last year's budget forecast 87,900 housing starts across the province in 2024. The actual number for 2024 (reported in this year's budget) was 74,600. The Ford government's own figures toward its target of 1.5 million new homes are slightly higher than the housing start numbers reported in the budget, because the government also counts a new long-term care bed as a new home. Bethlenfalvy says he believes federal money for housing will flow more easily and with fewer conditions under Prime Minister Mark Carney than it did before. "I'm optimistic that the federal government will step up to work in partnership with us and I can guarantee you that will lead to more housing being built," he said. The Ontario Real Estate Association praised the government for what it called "pro-housing measures" in the budget. "Now is the time to keep their foot on the gas and continue to support policies to bring affordability back for Ontarians and their families," the association's president, Cathy Polan, said in a statement. Among the opposition on budget day, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner went after the government the hardest over housing. "This budget utterly fails to even attempt to address the housing affordability crisis," Schreiner told a news conference.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Ontario's housing plan in crisis amid construction slowdown and financial woes
For thousands of Ontarians dreaming of a new home, the promise of 1.5 million new houses by 2031 is starting to feel like a distant hope. Ontario 's recent budget forecasts and industry challenges cast doubt on the province's ability to meet its housing goals, jeopardizing its plan to build 1.5 million new homes by 2031. The 2025 budget projects 71,800 housing starts for the year, a decrease from 74,600 in 2024. Projections for 2026 and 2027 are modestly higher at 74,800 and 82,500, respectively. But these figures fall significantly short of the annual average of 150,000 homes needed to reach the 1.5 million target by 2031. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Quanto costa trasformare la vasca in doccia? Remail Scopri Undo Also Read: Canada's smallest town about to be vacated Since the target was set, only about 260,000 homes have been started over three years. To meet the goal, the province would need to more than double its annual housing starts in the remaining years. Live Events In other words, to meet the target, Ontario would need to build an average of 218,000 homes each year over the next five years, more than twice the yearly rate achieved so far. The government's housing start tracker hasn't been updated since October 2024. At that time, nine months into the year, only 11 out of 50 municipalities had met their annual targets. Key factors behind Ontario's housing slowdown Several factors contribute to the slowdown in housing construction. The re-imposition of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump has increased the cost of building materials, further straining the housing sector. Industry experts warn that these tariffs could lead to a prolonged slump in construction, with some municipalities experiencing significant declines in housing starts. Although Ontario's slowdown in housing construction began even before U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House and introduced new tariffs. The 2024 budget had projected 87,900 housing starts for the year, but the actual figure, reported in this year's budget, fell short at just 74,600. Housing starts were already significantly down in 2024; this means more projects go unsold, get converted to rentals, or stop construction and go into receivership. Response from the authorities The Ontario government has introduced measures aimed at stimulating housing construction in response to these challenges. The budget of 2025 allocates $400 million to municipal infrastructure projects and commits $50 million over five years to expand modular housing capacity. However, critics argue that these initiatives are insufficient. Eric Lombardi, president of More Neighbours Toronto, expressed skepticism as he said, "The government should acknowledge that it's clearly not going to make that target." He described the budget's housing measures as ineffective, suggesting the Ford government "has given up on its own housing goals and has no interest in really achieving its prior promises on this file." The Building Faster Fund, a $1.2 billion program designed to incentivize municipalities to meet housing targets, has seen limited success. Only $280 million was distributed in 2024, as more than half of Ontario's municipalities failed to meet their housing start benchmarks. Peter Bethlenfalvy, the Finance Minister of Ontario, remains confident in the government's commitment to the housing target and said, "We're not going to relent on trying to achieve that goal," he said. He expressed optimism about increased federal support under Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration, which could potentially ease funding constraints.
CBC
19-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Why Ontario's 1.5M new homes target looks increasingly out of reach
The new Ontario budget foresees a slow pace for housing construction over the next three years, making it increasingly unlikely that Premier Doug Ford's government will achieve its target of 1.5 million new homes by 2031. The budget forecasts 71,800 housing starts in 2025, followed by 74,800 next year and 82,500 in 2027. There have been 260,000 actual housing starts in the three years since the target was set. So if you add in the projections for 2025 and 2026, the province would only be about one-quarter of the way toward its goal at the end of next year, the halfway point of the target timeline. To put it another way: construction in the final five years would need to average about 218,000 homes annually, more than double the pace of the first five years. "The government should acknowledge that it's clearly not going to make that target," said Eric Lombardi, president of More Neighbours Toronto, a volunteer-run housing advocacy organization. Lombardi describes the budget's measures on housing as ineffective and says that suggests the Ford government "has given up on its own housing goals and has no interest in really achieving its prior promises on this file." The biggest new measure related to housing in the 2025 budget involves adding $400 million to existing programs that fund municipal infrastructure for housing, such as water mains. There's also a commitment of $50 million over five years to boost the province's capacity in modular housing construction. The budget includes no changes to the centrepiece of the government's housing plan, what's called the Building Faster Fund. Announced in 2023, it promised to provide $1.2 billion over a three-year period to municipalities that achieve annual targets for new home construction starts. The province distributed only $280 million from the fund in 2024, its first year, after more than half of Ontario's municipalities failed to hit the housing start targets in 2023. The government hasn't updated its housing start tracker since October 2024. As of that point, nine months through the year, only 11 of 50 municipalities had reached their annual benchmark. CBC News asked a spokesperson for Housing Minister Rob Flack to explain why the tracker does not show the final figures for 2024, and when the numbers will be made public, but did not receive a response. Ontario government tables new bill aimed at solving housing crisis 6 days ago Duration 2:37 On budget day, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said the government remains committed to hitting the 1.5 million new homes target. "We're not going to relent on trying to achieve that goal," Bethlenfalvy said at a news conference. Housing slump predates Trump tariffs Bethlenfalvy said tariffs deserve a lot of the blame for the lowered projections for housing starts in 2025 and 2026, which are down more than 20 per cent from the forecasts in last year's budget. "Let's be clear, tariffs have impacted housing starts right around the world," he said. Ontario's housing construction slump, however, predates U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House and his imposition of tariffs. Last year's budget forecast 87,900 housing starts across the province in 2024. The actual number for 2024 (reported in this year's budget) was 74,600. The Ford government's own figures toward its target of 1.5 million new homes are slightly higher than the housing start numbers reported in the budget, because the government also counts a new long-term care bed as a new home. Bethlenfalvy says he believes federal money for housing will flow more easily and with fewer conditions under Prime Minister Mark Carney than it did before. "I'm optimistic that the federal government will step up to work in partnership with us and I can guarantee you that will lead to more housing being built," he said. The Ontario Real Estate Association praised the government for what it called "pro-housing measures" in the budget. "Now is the time to keep their foot on the gas and continue to support policies to bring affordability back for Ontarians and their families," the association's president, Cathy Polan, said in a statement. Among the opposition on budget day, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner went after the government the hardest over housing.
