January 29, 1998
To: Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee
From: Acting Executive Commissioner, Community and Neighbourhood Services
Subject: Briefing on Housing Issues
Purpose:
This report introduces a briefing presentation to be made to the committee on February 12.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that this report be received for information.
Background:
The Community and Neighbourhood Services Committee will be dealing with a range of housing-related reports and decisions over the next several months. Most of these relate to social housing-- that is, housing operated by public or community-based agencies, for low and moderate-income tenants. Some background will be helpful to the committee in dealing with the issues ahead of it.
The municipality will be dealing with social housing decisions in four main areas: municipal housing company issues; social housing devolution; meeting rising low-income housing needs; and homelessness and supportive housing.
The main issues regarding the municipal housing companies (The Metropolitan Toronto Housing Company Limited and Cityhome) are amalgamation and budget. Amalgamation of the two companies will take place in a systematic way over the next year, requiring decisions by Council at key points. In the budget process, it will be important to understand the distinctive profile of housing budgets, with about two-thirds of expenditures for mortgages, utilities, and property taxes.
Social housing devolution has several dimensions. These include its broad implications in fiscal terms, and in effects on future urban quality of life; issues of say for pay; provincial reform of social housing programs in connection with the hand-over of administrative responsibility to the municipal sector; the City's relationship to the provincial Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority (MTHA); and questions about future capital repair requirements.
Growth of low-income housing needs are a strong recent trend, and are a future certainty given ongoing growth of the Greater Toronto Area. Familiarity with trends, issues, and options will assist the committee in dealing with upcoming reports and decisions.
"Supportive housing" is housing in combination with support services, that helps people who need such assistance (e.g. long-term homeless people) to live stable, independent lives. The City is likely to become more involved in supportive housing issues, in connection with social housing devolution (because some social housing is supportive housing) and the Task Force on Homelessness.
All these issues will be elaborated in the February 12 presentation to the committee.
There are also housing issues beyond social housing: for example, rooming houses, Official Plan policies related to housing, and protection of private rental housing. These will be the subject of later reports or presentations.
Contact Name:
Joanne Campbell 392-6135
Acting Executive Commissioner, Community and Neighbourhood Services
