Toronto Mayor John Tory is pushing hard for a new housing plan ahead of the municipal election to help solve the affordability crisis and get houses built faster.

The province’s housing affordability issues are largely the result of a supply shortage. According to the report, Tory’s five-point strategy is designed to help speed up construction and address the supply shortage while also targeting idle developers and the “missing middle.”

Tory emphasized the importance of building more homes and how the city will address the city’s looming affordability crisis during an election platform announcement to reporters in the city’s Distillery District.

The Five Key Points are as follows:

1.     Expand housing options – Increase the construction of mid-density housing, also known as “Missing Middle” housing, along major roads and in transit-served areas. Construction of duplexes, triplexes, mid-rises and walk-up apartment buildings is included. This includes newly legalized garden suites, laneway housing, and exempting new developments with four or fewer units from development fees.

“The existing staff will be reorganized in the housing application spin cycle, moving back and forth between various departments of the local government. We’ll be able to approve projects more quickly thanks to the Development and Growth Division,” Tory said.

2.     Create a Development and Growth Division – This new city hall division will be in charge of all aspects of the review and approval process. This will help to accelerate the construction process by reducing red tape and shortening approval times. In addition, the division would prioritize and expedite the approval of purpose-built rentals (See point five).

3.     Enforce a “use it or lose it” policy for developers – enforcing a policy that will prevent developers from sitting on approved but undeveloped land. This means that land must be developed within a certain time frame, or developers risk losing their zoning approvals and potentially facing higher taxes.

4.     Authorize more co-op, supportive and affordable housing – This includes granting profit developers a portion of city-owned land. This will encourage the development of affordable housing, such as co-ops and supportive housing.

5.     Incentivizing the construction of purpose-built rental housing – This includes lowering fees and charges as well as prioritizing applications for purpose-built rental housing. With so many newcomers arriving in the city, Tory believes that rental housing is necessary to house the incoming population. In order to house this new population, it is essential to build more homes faster and create more affordable housing for them.

Tory’s points are supported by the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON). They do, however, criticize the lack of progress on government taxes, fees, and levies that developers face when building in the Toronto area. According to Crown Corporation research, removing these charges could reduce the cost of a Toronto home by 10-24%.

Mayor John Tory hopes that his 5-point plan will address both the affordability and supply and demand issues.