In Toronto, Community Housing (or non-market housing) refers to social and affordable housing that is owned and/or operated by non-profit housing organizations (including community land trusts), non-profit housing co-operatives (“Co-ops”), and Indigenous housing providers (collectively referred to as “Community Housing Providers”), along with the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) and the Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation (TSHC). Community Housing is typically developed and operated with publicly funded capital contributions, and ongoing rental subsidies. Furthermore, it is a critical segment of the housing continuum and provides rental housing options for low-and-moderate-income households. In addition to over 57,500 homes provided by Toronto Community Housing Corporation and Toronto Seniors Housing Corporation, there are currently over 200 Community Housing Providers in Toronto that operate over 40,000 subsidized Rent-Geared-To-Income (RGI) and affordable homes. About 75% of this stock was built prior to 1987 utilizing federal and provincial funding programs. Action from all orders of government is urgently needed to preserve and modernize these aging homes. Recognizing the need to accelerate efforts to maintain the city’s Community Housing stock, in March 2023, through Item - 2023.EX3.1, “ Housing Action Plan 2022-2026 (“HAP”) and in November 2023, through Item - 2023.EX9.3 - “ Generational Transformation of Toronto’s Housing System to Urgently Build More Affordable Homes ”, City Council directed staff to report back on a strategy to modernize and grow the Community Housing sector, and provide additional support for Community Housing Providers. The report responds to Council’s requests and recommends a new Community Housing Sector Modernization and Growth Strategy (“the Strategy”) aimed at: protecting the city's existing Community Housing stock through preserving the assets as well as maintaining affordability — creating net new Community Housing that will support the City in achieving its target of approving 65,000 rent-controlled homes by 2030 — and improving access to housing opportunities for low-and-moderate income households, particularly Indigenous residents and those from equity-deserving groups. The proposed Strategy, included as Attachment 1, encompasses six key initiatives to achieve these objectives, including: 1. A New Regulatory and Funding Framework to Maintain Homes Operated by Community Housing Providers Under Part VII.1 of the Housing Services Act – The new regulatory framework will allow the City, as Service Manager, to secure partnerships that will continue to offer affordable and deeply affordable housing with Community Housing Providers operating under Part VII of the Housing Services Act whose mortgages are expiring. 2. A New Policy Framework to Guide Ground Lease Arrangements Between the City of Toronto and Community Housing Providers – A number of Community Housing Providers operate buildings on land leased from the City and need a lease extension, renewal or a new lease in order to continue to operate, or to refinance buildings and complete required upgrades/major repairs/modernization. The City is also focused on offering more of its land, through long-term leases to the Community Housing sector to scale up the delivery of non-market homes. A new policy framework is proposed in Attachment 2 to guide lease arrangements and ensure a consistent approach for both the City and Community Housing Providers as it relates to new leases, extensions and renewals. 3. Program Enhancements and Additional Financial Support to Acquire and Create New Community Housing – This report recommends changes to the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) program that would enable Community Housing Providers to use Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition funding to acquire a wider range of housing types, including larger buildings (those with greater than 60 units), smaller buildings (those with less than 6 units) such as multi-tenant homes, and condominium units. 4. Encouraging Development and Intensification Opportunities – The City will work with organizations who own land to identify opportunities to create new Community Housing. In addition, staff will continue to advance a number of changes to the Official Plan, zoning by-laws, and planning guidelines through the Housing Action Plan that would result in greater as-of-right development permissions, making it more predictable, simpler and quicker to add new housing supply. 5. An Expedited Development and Permitting Review Process for Community Housing Applications – This report recommends considering the establishment of a Community Housing Priority Stream to expedite development and permitting review and approvals of eligible Community Housing projects, and the utilization of all available tools to expedite zoning approvals. 6. Partnerships to Support Community Housing Sector Action to Build New and Modernize Existing Homes – Enhancing the development, asset management and governance capacity of Community Housing Providers will entail working with sector partners to develop resources and provide advisory services, and to explore opportunities for mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships between organizations to achieve economies of scale and/or to be able to leverage a larger asset pool for accessing capital required for new developments and repairs that will support longer-term growth and sustainability. The City will leverage its existing relationships within the sector and explore new partnerships and collaboration opportunities with organizations that can provide advisory services and support to Community Housing Providers. The measures in this report are complemented by the “Launching the Rental Housing Supply Program” report that is to be considered by the Planning and Housing Committee at the same meeting on June 13, 2024. This complementary report recommends additional financial support for new Community Housing through a proposed three-year, Community Housing Pre-Development Fund Pilot. Through this proposed pilot, Community Housing Providers can apply for financial assistance to cover the cost of pre-development activities that are crucial in supporting new community housing projects. The Strategy recommended in this report takes a comprehensive approach to sustain, modernize and grow the Community Housing sector in Toronto. It was informed by engagement with Community Housing Providers, the Housing Secretariat’s Tenant Advisory Committee, and key sector organizations such as the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA), the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness (TAEH), the Co-op Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT), and United Way Greater Toronto (UWGT). While the Strategy is focused on City-specific initiatives, immediate and complementary action is urgently needed from the federal and provincial governments. This includes new and enhanced investments to: grow the Community Housing sector — support low- and-moderate-income households to access and maintain their homes — improve access to supports and services — and build new affordable rental, co-operative and Rent-Geared-To-Income homes within complete communities.
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