Improving Affordable Housing - Province Consults

NRU
April 22, 2015

The provincial government is reviewing its Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy as part of its efforts to end homelessness, invest in affordable housing and expand access to supportive housing.

There continues to be an increased demand for affordable housing options in Ontario. According to Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association’s most recent Waiting Lists Survey there were more than 129,000 families and individuals on local waiting lists for rent-geared-to-income housing in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area at the end of 2013.

Last week the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing launched public consultations on the strategy, which is being updated to reflect new research and best practices.

Adopted in 2010, the strategy aims to make Ontario’s social housing programs people-centred, partnership-based, locally driven and fiscally responsible. Subsequently the government introduced the Housing Services Act, which clarified the role of the province and local social housing managers, and launched the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative.

The update comes on the heels of the province’s new poverty reduction strategy, which makes a long-term commitment to end homelessness. However, the province has yet to set a target. It says, first there needs to be new measures in place to track homelessness. Once these measures have been established, the government says a target and plan to achieve it will be introduced.

The consultation guide is intended to solicit comments from stakeholders and the public at large. It outlines the challenges affecting Ontario’s social housing system, such as the high demand for affordable housing, reduction in federal funding, gaps in data and the diverse needs of residents and people in need of social housing. It identifies the themes that are to shape the update: sustainable supply of affordable housing, fair system of housing assistance, co-ordinated, accessible support services and evidence and best practices based programs.

To improve the supply of affordable housing staff is to consider how planning and financial and regulatory tools can encourage private investment. Also, it is to explore the problems associated with maintaining the existing housing stock.

To ensure fair and equitable access, improvements to affordable housing access and waiting list reductions are to be explored. The current system for accessing social housing can be onerous and confusing as clients have to deal with numerous agencies.

Provincial staff is to ensure support services are coordinated and accessible and complexity is reduced. The current programs have been developed independently over the past 50 years and have not evolved to meet changing needs.

Residents have until July 3 to submit comments on the strategy online, by mail or telephone. The province will be updating the long-term strategy following the public consultation process.