In their most recent Service Plan, the Ministry of Housing has indicated that cumulative targets for “specified municipalities assigned housing targets” will increase to 68-80 municipalities by 2026/27. When the Housing Supply Act was originally enacted, the Province indicated that it would be applied to set housing targets in municipalities with the greatest need and highest projected growth. The increase of communities required to meet targets represents a significant expansion in the scope of the initiative.
The Province initially set targets for 10 municipalities in 2023, and last month it identified a further 20 municipalities that will receive targets by the summer. In addition to enabling the setting of targets, the Housing Supply Act and Housing Supply Regulation establish a framework for enforcement via the appointment of advisors, issuance of directives and ultimately the making of Orders in Council to enact or amend bylaws or issue or refuse permits.
UBCM is committed to working towards addressing the housing crisis through actions that address affordability and appropriately reflect local governments’ role within the broader housing system.
The Province has established net new completed housing units as the basis for measuring local government success in supporting new housing supply. Local governments have noted that this measure includes many elements outside of municipal control. These include interest rates, labour and material costs, and provincial approvals, any of which may be limiting factors for developer decisions on project feasibility. As a result, municipalities may be unable to meet their targets due to factors out of their control.
In addition, implementation of the Housing Supply Act impacts local decision-making and finances. Increasing housing supply to meet targets may place greater financial pressure on local governments due to the need to scale up services. UBCM has asked the province to provide long-term, stable and predictable infrastructure funding to address these challenges, as part of 2024 Advocacy Day meetings with the Premier, Ministers and MLAs last month.
If you have any questions or comments on the roll-out of the Housing Supply Act that you wish to convey to UBCM, please contact Josh van Loon, Senior Policy Analyst.