Support HART

Policy Implications

How can communities across the country use the HART tools to initiate policy change?

Workshop Report

HART completed nearly 50 research interviews and four workshops with non-profit housing providers, developers, municipalities, provinces, architects, and community advocates to identify barriers and come up with solutions that would result in more housing built on public land. Over 300 co-created solutions were distilled into key actions that every level of government can implement to make housing cheaper, faster, and easier to build.

Read the report here

Quick Policy Finder

Large Cities (100,000+)

High land values, complex approval processes

Suburban and Ex-Urban Communities

Increasing demand, streamlined partnerships

Rural, Northern & Indigenous

High inadequacy rates, strong community ties

Income-Based Policies

Targeted approaches by income category

Key Challenges

  • High land values
  • More households in inadequate housing
  • Extreme shelter cost increases

Key Opportunities

  • Large urban planning departments
  • In-house data and policy capacity
  • Established development processes
Zoning Reform

Streamline density permissions and reduce restrictive zoning barriers

Government Land Leasing

Provide long-term leases of public land for non-profit housing development.

Approval Streamlining

Simplify complex multi-department approval mechanisms

Affordability Acquisitions

Strategic purchase of existing buildings to preserve affordable units

Key Challenges

  • Increasing land values
  • Rapidly increasing shelter costs
  • Fewer resources to respond to demand

Key Opportunities

  • Streamlined partnerships (smaller networks)
  • Land values below city levels
  • Greater viability of non-profit projects
Zoning Reform

Allow higher density and diverse housing types to meet growing demand

Government Land Leasing

Provide long-term leases of public land for non-profit housing development.

Planning Capacity Building

Strengthen planning department resources and expertise

Affordability Acquisitions

Strategic purchase of existing buildings to preserve affordable units

Agricultural Land Protection

Use densification to protect agricultural and conservation lands

Key Challenges

  • Extremely high rates of inadequate housing
  • Additional costs for workers and materials
  • Lower incomes and government revenues

Key Opportunities

  • Much lower land values
  • Strong community attachment
  • Local labour force availability
Planning Capacity Building

Develop local planning expertise and administrative capacity

Government Land Leasing

Provide long-term leases of public land for non-profit housing development.

Modular Housing Review

Assess pre-fabricated modular housing options that benefit rural communities

Community-Based Construction

Leverage local labour force for housing development projects

Income-Based Policy Targets

Our tools suggest creating sub-targets based on income categories, with specific policy approaches for each level. This section explores those specific policy measures and the characteristics of each income category.

Very Low Income (0-20% of AMI)

Generally reliant on social assistance or fixed income. No affordable market housing in major cities.

2%

of the population

69%

in core housing need

$420

maximum monthly rent

Incentivize affordable: use tools like density bonusing to encourage affordable and social housing

Fast-track affordable: Create a fast-lane for approvals for non-profit and affordable projects, with a dedicated coordinator to support these proposals

Allow more diverse housing options: Promote and regulate multi-tenanted housing forms (e.g. boarding houses or SROs)

Use public land: Build affordable and social housing on city-owned properties (libraries, fire halls, post offices)

Non-profit partnerships: Collaborate to preserve and increase social and non-market housing stock

Address homelessness: Implement better systems to care for the homeless using By-Name Lists.

Provide shelter: Ensure there are adequate, 24/7 shelter spaces available for the homeless population, including families, pets, and those with mental health or addictions

Encourage social housing city-wide: Spread out the services and affordable options that people need across the city

Social assistance increase: Raise rates to poverty line (50% of median household income)

Provincial land provision: Provide well-located land including health centres, schools

Renter protections: Strengthen eviction protection, rent control, emergency rent banks

Provide funding to the most vulnerable: Increase funding to non-profits serving marginalized communities, including seniors, those with addictions, assisted living, those with disabilities

Contribute to non-profit acquisitions and buildings: Allocate funding to non-profit housing providers to build and acquire housing

Use other funding to reduce homelessness: Use Ministry of Health or Corrections funding to provide additional supportive and transitional housing for vulnerable populations

Low Income (21-50% of AMI)

Generally reliant on minimum wage employment. Virtually no affordable market housing in major cities.

18%

of the population

37%

in core housing need

$1,050

maximum monthly rent

In addition to everything for Very Low Income populations:

Focus on family-size: Create allocations or minimums for family-sized units

Remove fees: Eliminate development charges for affordable or non-profit projects

Allow for more diverse housing layouts: Legalize single-stair buildings up to six storeys everywhere

Promote rental: create and implement rental-only zoning

Make use of small spaces: Encourage smaller built forms like tiny houses on small lots

Enable mixed-use development: Focus on mixed-use co-development of city-owned properties by building housing on top of a government service (like post offices, libraries, fire halls)

Preserve existing affordability: Partner with non-profit housing providers to acquire existing affordable buildings and save them from market redevelopment

In addition to everything for Very Low Income populations:

Increase wages: Increase minimum wage to an amount that allows adequate affordable housing

Fund non-profit housing options: Ensure there are adequate housing options available for the most vulnerable populations

Permit vacancy control: Allow municipalities to protect renters and vulnerable tenants with vacancy control measures

All the same actions as those for Very Low Income populations.

Moderate Income (51-80% of AMI)

Healthcare, education, construction workers. Little affordable market housing in major cities.

18%

of the population

11%

in core housing need

$1,680

maximum monthly rent

In addition to everything for Very Low Income and Low Income populations:

Promote infill: Allow for more infill: laneway housing, secondary suites, small-scale multi-family homes like duplexes and triplexes

Parking requirement reduction: Eliminate minimum parking for affordable developments

Reduce empty homes: Implement disincentives, costing or fee structures to discourage unit vacancy, underdeveloped/ lazy land, and low-density housing.

Retire “growth pays for growth” strategies: Align development charges with the costs of infrastructure and servicing without disproportionately relying on new build instead of existing residents

Encourage innovative construction techniques: Allow for more alternative forms of housing construction such as modular housing, manufactured housing, and prefabricated housing

Add more rental near transit: Incentivize and approve Purpose-Built Rental housing near rapid-transit and rapid-bus stations  

Remove red tape: Reduce and streamline urban design and character guidelines, by eliminating height restrictions, visual character requirements, view cones, setbacks, etc.

All the actions for Very Low Income and Low Income populations.

In addition to everything for Very Low Income and Low Income populations:

Tax incentives: Tax exemptions (e.g. accelerated depreciation) for market rental, with additional tax incentives for moderate-income affordable housing

Median Income (81-120% of AMI)

A range of workers, often with two incomes. In major cities, homeownership may still be out of reach, but most market rental will be affordable for them.

21%

of the population

1%

in core housing need

$2,520

maximum monthly rent

In addition to everything for Very Low Income, Low Income, and Moderate populations:

Delegate approvals: Ensure that housing approvals that satisfy official community plans are streamlined without hearing

All the actions for Very Low Income and Low Income populations.

All the actions for Very Low Income, Low Income, and Moderate Income populations.

High Income (120+% of AMI)

Most often older, established households with two incomes. There are no additional policies required to support these households.

40%

of the population

~0%

in core housing need

Over $2,520

affordable monthly rent

If you’d like to discuss these policy implications, or how your community can better support housing outcomes, please get in touch. We also have our innovation map that shows how other communities across Canada have made impacts on housing affordability already.

Sign-up for our newsletter

Get updates from the HART team quarterly

Sign up here