New campus building powers have been unveiled in Ontario’s proposed housing law

The Ford government is introducing new housing legislation aimed at building housing faster in the province and reaching its goal of 1.5 million new homes in Ontario by 2031.

Housing Minister Paul Calandra says the government’s “Cut Red Tape to Build More Housing” law includes several changes, such as giving universities more power to build student housing on their land, giving municipalities the power to deal with stalled developments and will prioritize ready-to-go housing projects.

If the law is passed, it will require the ministry to develop new standards for business services for construction permits. The government says it will reduce the regulatory burden, make processes more transparent and reduce project delays.

“These measures recognize the difficulties that our municipal partners have faced in building housing and are aimed at removing those barriers,” Housing Minister Paul Calandra said in a statement. “We’re not going to micromanage and mandate a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach across the state. Municipalities know their communities best – they know where it makes sense to build housing.”

The legislation would also exempt public universities from the Planning Act to expedite the construction of new student housing units.

“Removing the barriers that universities face when building student housing shows how we can find innovative ways to get shovels in early,” said Jill Dunlop, the minister for colleges and universities, in a statement.

“By requiring post-secondary institutions to publish their student housing policies, we are also ensuring that students have access to and are aware of student housing options that are safe, affordable and within easy commute to campus,” he added.

The new law is ‘weak’: resistance

The government says by exempting universities from the Planning Act, schools can build high-density student accommodation. Universities will also be able to avoid setting application fees.

Opposition parties said on Tuesday they were concerned about the government increasing its housing start targets to include student accommodation. The government confirmed on Wednesday that this legislation will not include student housing towards its housing numbers at this time.

Commenting Wednesday, NDP Leader Marit Stiles says the legislation doesn’t go far enough to build homes quickly and efficiently.

“Here in Ontario, I’m sorry to say today’s Conservative government legislation leaves all those people out again,” he told reporters. “This is a weak bill. It lacks ambition, it lacks courage and it lacks urgency.”

“Part of what this bill presents is just a change to bad government policies,” Stiles added.

The bill reverses some of the changes introduced by the Ford government through Bill 23, the “More Homes Built Faster Act”, in 2022. It eliminates the development payment method to only provide savings to developers to build affordable housing.

Ontario Liberal MP Adil Shamji says this is becoming the norm with this government.

“Every few months we have a new house bill, and it usually goes back to something that was in the last one,” he said.

The government set a goal of building 1.5 million new homes by 2031 to reduce the massive housing crisis that has contributed to high real estate prices and taxes.

Ontario’s spring budget shows the pace of new home construction is accelerating in the province, with 88,000 homes expected to start in 2024, but still far short of the levels needed to meet the government’s target. Calandra previously indicated that Ontario needed to build at least 125,000 homes this year, rising to at least 175,000 a year in the near future.

Build close to transportation

The government said it is also removing minimum parking rates for new buildings near transport hubs. The housing minister says it will allow more mixed-use communities with residential, retail and office space close to public transport.

“We build houses quickly and at low cost,” he said. “Including allowing homeowners and developers to determine the appropriate number of parking spaces in new residential developments near transit.”

Multi-timber construction will also be reformed through this housing bill, which will soon allow developers to implement 18-story wooden buildings. Currently, such developments are limited to 12 stories high. The housing minister says it is just one type of standard housing that the state wants to increase access to.

“It could be all kinds of housing,” Calandra said. “Detached, bungalows, townhouses – basically anything you can think of. We can work to make sure it’s a design that’s approved and then give it to our municipal partners.”

The law also includes a “use it or lose it” tool, which gives municipalities more power to deal with stalled development. The government has previously said that forcing developers to act on building permits will stop lazy construction.

Municipalities can also provide incentives to certain businesses through legislation to help attract investment and enact government legislation to clear Peel Region.

This bill would amend the law that would have dissolved the high-level region and instead give it to a transitional board responsible for managing the municipal divorce with a focus on how to make the Region of Peel more efficient.