Cutting development fees alone won’t solve housing affordability, CMHC says
A new analysis from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) indicates that simply cutting municipal development fees will not resolve Canada's housing affordability crisis. While reducing these fees could increase the number of viable housing projects, the impact varies significantly by city and is insufficient to restore pre-pandemic affordability levels. The CMHC emphasizes that development charges play a role in municipal fiscal plans and should not be viewed as the sole solution to the housing issue.
- ▪The CMHC states that slashing development charges alone won't solve housing affordability issues in Canada.
- ▪Reducing these fees could increase viable housing projects, but the effect differs by city.
- ▪Toronto could see a 10% increase in viable projects with a 90-100% cut in development charges, while Ottawa would only see a 3% increase.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Open this photo in gallery:Carpenters build new homes in Ottawa on Monday.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian PressShareSave for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story.Log InCreate Free AccountSlashing municipal development charges would not be enough on its own to make homes affordable again across Canada, says a new analysis from the federal housing agency.Development charges are fees cities impose on developers that are mainly used to pay for infrastructure that supports new builds.The federal government is spending billions of dollars to encourage municipalities to cut development fees in half to boost housing supply and improve affordability.The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s chief economist Mathieu Laberge published a report Wednesday that says reducing or eliminating development…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Globe and Mail.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from The Globe and Mail
