Progress being made on the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan

Today, the Planning and Housing Committee adopted the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan: 2020-2021 Progress Update Report. The report demonstrates the progress made by the City of Toronto and its partners over the past year and outlines some key priority areas the City will focus on in 2022.

The HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan (the 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 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.

The progress report approved today details how the City and its partners have:

• Made strong progress on advancing the Housing Now Initiative with development partners selected for the first three sites plus a commitment of over $1.3 billion in land, financial incentives and staffing resources making it possible for the City to achieve over 50 per cent of its 10-year 10,000 affordable homes approval target in less than three years.
• Opened 220 homes with support services dedicated to people experiencing homelessness, including the first two modular supportive housing buildings which were completed within nine-months of approval.
• Made significant progress on delivering the 24-month COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Response Plan through the federal Rapid Housing Initiative, which will help create a minimum of 860 new permanent supportive homes for people experiencing homelessness by the end of 2022.
• Partnered with Toronto Community Housing Corporation to create 450 supportive housing opportunities for people experiencing homelessness using vacant rent geared-to-income apartments and layering on support services secured through the province.
• Entered into a partnership with United Property Resource Corporation to unlock the value of their real estate assets and help create 500 affordable homes over the next five to seven years.
• Developed a Memorandum of Understanding with Miziwe Biik Development Corporation to establish them as the main intermediary between the City and Indigenous housing providers to support the creation of 5,200 new affordable rental and supportive homes “for Indigenous by Indigenous” across the city.
• Supported renters by establishing a permanent Tenant Advisory Committee on the Protection of Affordable Rental Housing; launched a new renter hub on the City’s website and created the City’s first Eviction Prevention Handbook. The Handbook was tested with input of tenants and stakeholders and outlines tenant rights, types of evictions, tenant support resources and where to go for help.
• Advanced a new affordable housing definition linked to the income of low-and moderate-income renters which will help to attract and retain key workers in our city.
• Established a new Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition program aimed at protecting the existing supply of rental homes by removing market rental buildings from the speculative market and securing them as permanently affordable housing.

Read more about the HousingTO Progress Report and watch a video highlighting progress on several key actions on the City’s website.

While 2021 has seen unprecedented progress in terms of ramping up the supply of new affordable and supportive homes and increasing housing affordability for residents, new and enhanced federal and provincial investments will be pivotal to Toronto’s continued success. These investments include: capital funding to create new housing supply; ongoing operating funding (for wraparound health, social and housing supports) to create supportive housing opportunities; rent supports for households living in unaffordable housing and at risk of evictions; and funding for retrofit programs to improve the quality of existing homes.

Investments in affordable housing will support the shared objectives of all governments, including: eliminating chronic homelessness; increasing housing stability; supporting climate change action and creating more equitable, inclusive and vibrant communities where all residents have equal access to succeed. They will also help improve housing, health and socio-economic outcomes for equity-deserving groups, increase the resilience of our health, housing and homelessness systems, support climate change objectives and boost Toronto’s economic recovery from the pandemic.

Those interested are encouraged to read through the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan in full.

Quotes:

“I am determined to get more housing built – including more affordable housing and more supportive housing – and we have made progress on an aggressive housing agenda even in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our City government with the help of other orders of government, community partners and our residents across the city, we have been able to make significant progress towards helping 341,000 households as part of our HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan. I am committed to working with the federal and provincial governments as well as with housing providers in the public and private sectors to invest in housing and get more affordable housing built in the years to come.”
– Mayor John Tory

“In view of the fact that it has only been a short time since we commenced implementation of the HousingTO 2020-2030 Housing Action Plan, our accomplishments to date demonstrate the City’s commitment to the Plan as well as that of other levels of government and non-profit and private sector partners. There remains much to be done and we need to continue to develop innovative ways to create affordable housing more quickly and to encourage all of our partners to work with us collaboratively. With our achievements to date, I am confident we will continue to advance our affordable housing initiatives in our city.”
– Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão (Davenport), Chair of the Planning and Housing Committee

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit the City’s website or follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.