Affordable Housing

City of Toronto issues Open Door program call for applications to support building new affordable rental housing

The City of Toronto has released the 2020 Call for Applications for the Open Door program. The program provides an opportunity for private, co-op and non-profit affordable housing organizations to apply for support from the City to create affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income households in Toronto.

The Open Door program encourages private, co-op and non-profit housing organizations to develop affordable housing by providing successful applicants with a range of financial contributions, which could include an exemption of fees, charges or property tax as well as capital funding. Successful Open Door applications also benefit from the Open Door Planning Service which fast-tracks approvals.

City of Toronto calls for Federal-Provincial-City partnership to create 3,000 permanent, affordable homes over the next 24 months

The City of Toronto has issued the COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Recovery Response Plan -- an urgent appeal to the federal and provincial governments to create 3,000 permanent, affordable homes, within the next 24 months, for homeless, vulnerable and marginalized residents. These investments will support the Council-approved HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan aimed at helping more than 340,000 households in Toronto over the next 10 years.

City of Toronto Modular Housing Initiative progressing quickly; initial site locations identified

Within a month of receiving Council approval, the plan to expedite delivery of Phase 1 of the City of Toronto’s Modular Housing Initiative is well underway and the program is on track to provide stable, affordable, high quality housing and support services to 100 individuals experiencing homelessness by the fall of 2020.

A key component of the expedited delivery is site identification. City and CreateTO staff have been evaluating City-owned land across Toronto using criteria that included local demand for affordable housing, development potential of the site, local infrastructure, access to public transit, access to health and other community services, as well as zoning and other bylaw considerations. Following the rigorous evaluation process, the following two sites are being recommended for Phase 1 of the Modular Housing Initiative:

Second Phase of the Housing Now Initiative released; new City-owned sites identified to create more affordable homes in Toronto

Today, Mayor John Tory announced the release of the Phase Two sites of Housing Now, a signature initiative to increase the supply of new affordable rental housing within mixed-income, mixed-use and transit-oriented communities on City-owned lands across Toronto.

Housing Now is a key component of the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (HousingTO) and contributes towards the City's target of approving 40,000 affordable rental homes, including 18,000 supportive homes over the next 10 years. HousingTO is a comprehensive blueprint to assist more than 341,000 households over the next ten years by addressing the need across the housing spectrum – from homelessness to affordable rental and ownership housing. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an even greater number of residents experiencing housing challenges while also underscoring the importance of having a home in order to practice physical distancing and self-isolation. The City is looking to expedite delivery of the HousingTO plan in partnership with other levels of government in order to quickly provide more housing options for residents.

Implementation plan for up to 250 modular supportive housing units released, CMHC’s Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to cover 40 per cent of capital costs for Phase I

News Release

April 29, 2020

Implementation plan for up to 250 modular supportive housing units released, CMHC’s Affordable Housing Innovation Fund to cover 40 per cent of capital costs for Phase I

Today, Mayor John Tory announced the proposed implementation plan for a modular supportive housing initiative to create 110 modular homes on two City-owned sites. The new modular homes are expected to be ready for occupancy by September 2020 and will provide stable, affordable housing and support services to individuals experiencing homelessness.

City of Toronto taking action to help vulnerable tenants who need it most

March 24, 2020

City of Toronto taking action to help vulnerable tenants who need it most

Mayor Tory calls on private landlords to put policies in place to help unemployed tenants and communicate them

Today, Mayor John Tory announced the City is taking action to help Toronto's most vulnerable tenants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After consulting with Mayor Tory and City staff, who approved both the form of the help and the financial implications for Toronto Community Housing, TCHC confirmed today that it will be flexible and work with market rent and rent-geared-to-income (RGI) tenants whose employment income has been impacted by COVID-19.

Toronto to investigate the shocking rise of renovictions in the city

February 20, 2020 By Lauren O'Neil, BlogTO

As rent prices surge with wanton abandon across the city of Toronto, so too do rates of landlords who try to get sneaky with illegal eviction techniques.

A November report from The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario showed that the city has seen a staggering rise in "renovictions" over the past four years, not-so-coincidentally alongside skyrocketing market rental rates.

'Renoviction' rates soar due to big-city housing crunch

December 30, 2019 Melissa Mancini & David Common · CBC News 

It was a knock at the door that ignited the battle.

As Yanick Marion hustled early one morning to get to work, the manager of his apartment building had a message: "You have to leave. You don't have a choice," he recalls.

The manager, Marion says, was insistent that electrical upgrades were needed in the aging 36-unit complex in Montreal.

Queen and Coxwell revitalization will bring new affordable housing to area

Housing affordability is one of the most pressing issues facing us today so I am pleased to support the proposed Queen Coxwell Revitalization on the current site of the Don Summerville Apartments on Queen Street East.

For a year following the city election, I pushed to ensure that Toronto Community Housing (TCHC) added new affordable housing to their proposed revitalization. The new plan does just that. City staff, TCHC and Context Development have now agreed to a redevelopment plan for the property that would add 100 affordable rental apartments and as well as 180 market rental apartments.

A better way to get the housing mix Toronto needs

October 29, 2019 Toronto Star Editorial Board

Two aging Toronto Community Housing buildings are being demolished to make way for new and improved social housing units, rentals and condominiums.

The new buildings aren’t up and the old ones haven’t even been torn down yet, but this project is already a big success.