Home Builders support government’s bold new housing plan to improve housing affordability and supply in Ottawa and across the province
October 25, 2022 — The Greater Ottawa Home Builder’s Association (GOHBA) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) support the introduction of the Ontario government’s new, once-in-a-generation housing plan. The More Homes, Built Faster Act will ensure that there are enough housing options for residents of Ottawa now and into the future.
The new legislation introduces a number of measures to freeze or reduce government-imposed costs on new housing, encourage the building of rental and more affordable homes, and speed up the development approvals process.
More Homes, Built Faster will also allow converting a single-detached home into a multi-unit building that can house two or three families, and it will mandate that municipalities provide sufficient zoning around transit stations in a more-timely manner.
“The Housing Affordability Task Force Report and Recommendations emphasized that achieving our City’s housing goals – especially when it comes to intensification – would take a lot more than just tweaks,” said Jason Burggraaf, GOHBA’s Executive Director. “We are extremely pleased to see the province commit to action that looked at the impediments to building new homes and takes them head on.”
In June this year housing economist Will Dunning released a report showing that between 2006-2021, Ottawa was 23,838 homes short of what was needed for its population and household demographics. Ottawa’s new Official Plan only called for building an average of 8,000 homes a year over the next decade. The province is now asking for that number to be nearly double.
“The current housing supply and affordability crisis is a man-made problem that was created in the course of a decade and a half and will take time to fix,” said Luca Bucci, CEO of the OHBA. “It starts today with Ontario’s new big, bold housing plan. The More Homes, Built Faster Act increases accountability for municipalities in enabling the housing supply the province needs, increases transparency on the funds collected on the back on new homes, caps the fees to the economic conditions of the day and removes roadblocks to adding gentle density. Put simply, the government has delivered the regulatory framework to enable necessary change.”
The More Home Built Fast Act will help get Ottawa and Ontario back on track towards housing affordability by focusing on addressing the core underlying problem, a lack of home supply.
“What housing options will be available for Ottawans 10, 20 years from now? How much housing will be available and how affordable will it be? That’s the focus of this legislation – to ensure that we don’t continue to perpetuate the current housing crisis.” said David Renfroe, GOHBA President, “We want to get to work right away in partnership with the new mayor and all of council to achieve our housing goals, so that residents of Ottawa will have a better and more affordable supply of homes.”
For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact Jason Burggraaf at jason@gohba.ca.
The Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association has been the proud voice for excellence in the home building community since 1951. Builders, developers, renovators, trade contractors, suppliers, and manufacturers make up the core of the Association’s membership of over 370 companies. New home construction and professional renovation account for 37,000 jobs across Ottawa, with $2.5 billion in wages and $5.0 billion in economic investment.
The Ontario Home Builders’ Association is the voice of the residential construction industry in Ontario, representing 4,000 member companies organized into 27 local associations across the province. The residential construction industry contributes over $76 billion dollars to Ontario’s economy, employing more than 550,000 people across the province. Our members have the vital responsibility to build the housing supply that current Ontario residents are counting on at all stages in their life and be the voice of future home buyers who want to call our province home.