The provincial government has received royal assent for legislation to support its More Homes for Everyone plan, which aims to address Ontario's housing crisis by building more houses, faster, and protecting home buyers.
"With the passage of the More Homes for Everyone Act, our government is taking the next step in our long-term plan to deliver on the Housing Affordability Task Force’s report, and help more Ontarians realize the dream of homeownership," Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark said.
"As we continue to collaborate with our municipal and industry partners, our government commits to a housing supply action plan every year over four years to deliver gentle density and multi-generational homes in communities across our province," Clark added.
The plan is built on recommendations from the Housing Affordability Task Force the Ontario-Municipal Housing Summit, as well as input from municipalities and the public.
Some of the recommendations included are:
• Identifying and enhancing measures to suppress land speculation and protect home buyers. This is in response to feedback regarding projects that are approved by the municipality but remain unbuilt by developers.
• Strengthening consumer protections for purchasers of new homes. This will be done by doubling fines and extending building licence suspensions to address unethical conduct by developers. It will also ensure penalties for cancelled projects are aligned with the impact on homebuyers.
• Supporting municipalities with resources, tools and standards to provide timely review and adjudication processes.
• Creating a new tool specifically to help municipalities expedite housing and community infrastructure approvals with clear consultation and public notice requirements.