New housing bill a monumental step forward, but still work left to do

October 28, 2022

Statement from Dean Tester, co-founder, Make Housing Affordable

The provincial government’s Build More Homes Faster bill is a monumental step forward for housing policy in Ontario — and perhaps the most important bill ever proposed by this government.

Ontario needs urgent action to solve our housing crisis and this is the most ambitious plan ever put forward in Canada.

By encouraging missing-middle housing and density near transit, this legislation will help make us housing more affordable, reduce urban sprawl to protect our environment, and build livable, walkable communities in all our cities.

By reducing the costs to build affordable housing and apartments, this legislation will help get more affordable units built, reduce long wait lists for affordable homes, and make life more affordable for renters across Ontario.

By streamlining approvals, making more housing options available by right, and removing politically driven third-party appeals, we can dramatically reduce costs for first-time homebuyers and renters across Ontario.

We applaud the tremendous work done by the ministry to put forward such a comprehensive action plan to build more homes faster.

We would like to see this bill go farther. The plan to allow up to 3 units by right on a lot is a clear step in the right direction towards building missing-middle housing, but it falls short of ending exclusionary zoning practices.

We would like to see up to 4 units by right, and we would like to see it paired with a plan to allow buildings to be up to 4 storeys tall by right, which would dramatically increase our ability to get missing-middle housing built province-wide.

We are also concerned about potential changes to rental replacement and conservation authorities, and we look forward to consulting with the government to make sure they get the details right.

In particular, we want to make sure any changes to rental replacement are made to strengthen and protect the rights of renters.

We also want to make sure that any changes made to conservation authorities strengthen and protect our wetlands and our natural environment.