The Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act was introduced by the Ontario government on April 6, 2023, continuing its responsible and focused approach to implementing its plan to build 1.5 million homes by 2031 and laying a solid foundation to make life easier and more affordable for residents of the province.
Whenever passed, the proposed changes would additionally fortify homebuyer securities, support occupants and smooth out the guidelines around land-use arranging.
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark stated, “Our government has made real progress in tackling Ontario’s housing supply crisis, with current housing starts remaining above historic averages.” Ontario, like the rest of North America, is facing difficult headwinds that are slowing down the construction of new homes. These headwinds include rising interest rates, a lack of skilled labor, and inflation. Our government will continue to take action to ensure that Ontario is ready to build more homes as market conditions improve despite these obstacles.
The Plan for Assisting Homebuyers and Protecting Tenants includes:
- A $6.5 million investment to appoint an additional 40 adjudicators and hire five staff to improve service standards and continue to reduce active applications and decision timeframes at the Landlord and Tenant Board. This increase more than doubles of the number of full-time adjudicators at the Landlord Tenant Board.
- Further strengthening protections against evictions due to renovations, demolitions and conversions, as well as those for landlord’s own use, as well as clarify tenants’ rights to install air conditioners.
- Expanding deposit insurance for First Home Savings Accounts to Ontario at credit unions, and exploring a cooling-off or cancellation period on purchases of newly built freehold homes, as well as mandatory legal review of purchase agreements for all new home purchases.
- Freezing 74 different provincial fees at the 2023-2024 level. This includes fees that directly or indirectly increase the cost of housing.
- Speeding up government approval processes by updating the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 and integrating it with A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to create a single, provincewide, housing-focused land use planning policy document.
Associate Minister of Housing Nina Tangri stated, “Our government has been steadfastly focused on Ontario’s housing supply crisis since the moment we first took office.” Although we are aware that more work is required, we have enacted policies that are contributing to the construction of more homes across Ontario. The announcement today is the next step in our strategy to ensure that Ontario’s housing stock continues to expand over the long term and that more Ontarians can afford a home.
Up until June 5, 2023, Ontario is conducting a 60-day consultation on the proposed new Provincial Planning Statement. Municipalities would have more flexibility, duplication would be reduced, more homes would be built in both urban and rural areas, local economies would be supported, jobs would be created, and the environment—including the Greenbelt protections that are already in place—would continue to be protected. In order for families moving into new housing to anticipate that their children will be able to attend local schools, coordination between municipalities and school boards would also be required. This would make it possible for families to anticipate that local schools will be available for their children.
The government continues to collaborate with municipal partners to guarantee that rural communities, cities, and towns will continue to expand with a mix of owned and rented housing that meets the requirements of residents all over the province.
