The HousingTO 2020 -2030 Action Plan provides a blueprint for action across the full housing spectrum – from homelessness to rental and ownership housing to long-term care for seniors. This new plan was created following a comprehensive public and stakeholder consultation in 2019 and sets an aggressive housing agenda focused on supporting people over the next 10 years. As outlined in the the revised Toronto Housing Charter – Opportunity for All, City of Toronto recognizes that housing is essential to the inherent dignity and well-being of the person and to building sustainable and inclusive communities.

The HousingTO Plan updates and builds upon the City’s first housing plan, Housing Opportunities Toronto Action Plan 2010-2020. It aligns with other City policies such as the Poverty Reduction StrategyResilience StrategyTransformTO, the Seniors Strategy . It also sets targets to be achieved over the next 10 years with estimates of the financial investments necessary to achieve success. Additionally, the Plan provides for increased accountability and oversight over a range of government resources necessary for improving housing outcomes for residents. Read the full staff report and other complementary materials.

The Vision

Toronto is a city with a diverse range of housing opportunities. It is a place where families and individuals live in safe, well-maintained and affordable housing with respect and dignity and where people have equal opportunities to succeed.

Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, City staff across City divisions, agencies and corporations, have been actively engaged and working with all orders of government and community partners to respond to the pandemic and lay the foundation for recovery. These partnership efforts have focused on supporting our most vulnerable and marginalized residents, including a significant expansion of the emergency shelter system to create spaces for physical distancing and isolation and moving clients from the shelter system into permanent housing where possible.

COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Recovery Response Plan

The goal of the City of Toronto’s COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Recovery Response Plan is to create 3,000 permanent, affordable homes, within the next 24 months, for vulnerable and marginalized residents. It requests the federal and provincial governments to fast-track and expand initiatives under the National Housing Strategy and other existing federal and provincial funding programs while also reiterating previous requests to partner on the City’s HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

Mayor’s Recovery Task Force – Housing Action Team

In late March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the City of Toronto, under the leadership of Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão, established a Housing Action Team. The Team is comprised of representatives from various sectors brought together to flag new and emerging issues, collectively identify solutions, and plan for longer term recovery. Specifically, the Housing Action Team is focused on solutions as they relate to people (people experiencing homelessness, renters and operators/landlords) and the creation of a diverse set of affordable and market rental housing opportunities.

Read the Housing and People Action Plan: Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis while Planning for a More Resilient Future.

COVID-19 Interim Shelter Recovery Strategy: Advice from the Homelessness Service System

The COVID-19 Interim Shelter Recovery Strategy offers advice to guide the City of Toronto Shelter Support and Housing Administration (SSHA), United Way Greater Toronto (United Way), community agencies, and other partners in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the shelter and homelessness service system over the next 12 months.

This strategy presents immediate priorities in the context of the pandemic and lays a foundation to build on in SSHA’s upcoming five-year service plan. The advice offered in this report was generated through a process co-convened by SSHA and United Way, and led by a task force of leaders in the homelessness service system.

View this data as an infographic.

How the vision will be achieved

  1. Adopt a revised “Toronto Housing Charter – Opportunity for All”
  2. Enhance partnerships with Indigenous community partners
  3. Prevent homelessness and improve pathways to housing stability
  4. Provide pathways to support women
  5. Maintain and increase access to affordable rents
  6. Meet diverse housing needs of seniors
  7. Ensure well-maintained and secure home for renters
  8. Support Toronto Community Housing and its residents
  9. Continue the revitalization of neighbourhoods
  10. Create new rental housing responsive to residents’ needs
  11. Help people buy, stay in and improve their homes
  12. Improve accountability and transparency in delivery of housing services to residents
  13. Enhance partnerships and intergovernmental strategy

Who it will help

  • 341,000+ households
  • 40,000 new affordable rental homes approvals including:
    • 18,000 new supportive homes approvals for vulnerable residents including people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless
    • 10,000 new affordable rental and supportive homes for women and girls including female-led households
  • 10,000 evictions prevented for low-income households
  • Improving affordability of 40,000 households
    • 31,000 households to receive up to $4,800 per year/household in Canada Housing Benefit
    • 9,000 households to continue to receive housing allowances
  • Maintaining affordability for 2,300 non-profit homes after expiry of their operating agreements
  • Providing supportive services to 10,000 individuals and families in supportive housing
  • Improve housing conditions for 74,800 households by repairing and revitalizing Toronto’s rental housing stock, including:
    • repair of 58,500 Toronto Community Housing units
    • bringing 2,300 private homes to a state-of-good repair
    • addition of 14,000 new market and affordable homes with 5,000 replacement home in eight TCHC communities
  • 10,010 seniors remain in their homes or move to ling-term care facilities by:
    • redeveloping five City-owned long-term homes including 1,232 existing beds and 978 new beds
    • supporting the creation 1,500 new non-profit long-term care beds
    • home repair assistance for 300 eligible low-income senior homeowners
    • property tax relief for 6,000 eligible seniors
  • 4,000 new affordable non-profit home ownership opportunities
  • 150,000 first-time home buyers assisted through first-time Municipal Land Transfer Tax Rebate Program

2020 Implementation and Progress Report

City Council adopted the HousingTO 2020-2030 Implementation Plan on September 30, October 1 and 2, 2020 as the accountability framework to monitor the City’s progress towards delivering on the actions identified in the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan over the next ten years.

The HousingTO Implementation Plan also includes an overview of progress made to-date. Annual updates will be provided to Council on progress and will also identify any risks and opportunities, plus recommendations to “change course”, if needed.

2020-2021 Progress Report

2022-2023 Progress Report

When the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan and the revised Toronto Housing Charter were adopted in 2019 the City Manager was directed by City Council to report back on the role or function for a Housing Commissioner to:

  • independently assess the implementation of the revised Toronto Housing Charter and the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan; and
  • ensure that the City, within its legislative authorities, and through the implementation of various programs and policies, is taking concrete actions to combat systematic housing discrimination and address systemic hurdles in the housing system.

The City Manager retained Crean Consulting and the Maytree Foundation, external experts in accountability, governance, human rights and community engagement, to undertake a review and provide advice on how a Housing Commissioner role or function can be established that is suitable for Toronto and will help the City address key housing challenges.

Crean and Maytree’s final report was provided to the City Manager in May 2022.

Following a review of Crean and Maytree’s final report, the City Manager recommended several concrete actions be undertaken across the City’s governance system to help the City move towards the progressive realization of the right to housing.

City Council adopted the following recommendations from the City Manager at its meeting on July 19, 2022:

  • Establish a new Council Advisory Committee to provide City Council with advice from people with lived experience of housing instability and with expertise in a human rights-based approach to housing.
  • Request the Toronto Ombudsman consider the findings of Crean and Maytree’s report and report to City Council in 2023 with their recommendations, including consideration of establishing a dedicated Deputy Ombudsman, Housing.
  • Develop an enhanced training program for City staff on applying a housing human rights approach to their work.
  • Create new opportunities for intergovernmental dialogue, including with the Federal Housing Advocate.
  • Commit to provide Council with independent assessments of the City’s progress in moving towards the right to adequate housing as outlined in the Housing Charter, in 2025 and 2030 – the halfway and end points of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan.

The City of Toronto would like to thank the residents and organizations that participated in the HousingTO consultation process. Read the Consultation Summary Report.

Inspiring Ideas for Toronto: An International Public Panel Discussion on Housing

As part of developing the new HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan, the City hosted an International Public Panel Discussion on Housing. Panelists from Vancouver, Chicago, and Cleveland presented inspiring ideas and lessons learned on eliminating homelessness, creating mixed-income communities and boosting the supply of affordable housing in cities across North America.

External Advisory Committee

In response to a Council direction through Housing Opportunities Toronto Action Plan (2020- 2030) Directions Report an External Advisory Committee was established to advise staff in developing the City’s new 10-year housing plan.

The External Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão and David Raycraft, the Director of Housing Services at Dixon Hall, brought together experts from a wide variety of organizations and sectors as well as people with lived experience of poverty, housing insecurity and homelessness.

The Committee helped City staff in considering various aspects of the housing system in Toronto and shared their perspectives on potential solutions, opportunities and challenges.

City Council endorsed the Housing Opportunities Toronto (HOT) Action Plan 2010-2020 as a road map to steer the work and investment decisions of the City of Toronto as they relate to housing in partnership with federal and provincial governments, as well as the public and private housing sectors  over this decade.

Annual Progress Reports

The City is pleased to provide Annual Progress Reports based on the eight key themes used to organize the 67 recommended actions in the HOT Plan:

HOT Targets & Completions

The City of Toronto uses federal, provincial and City investments to create and repair affordable rental and ownership homes, in partnership with the private/non-profit sectors, to work toward meeting its housing action plan targets.

The Affordable Housing Office publishes progress reports on the number of new affordable homes approved, completed and repaired: