VAUGHAN, ONT. – The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) is urging the provincial government to take a series of bold steps in the upcoming budget in order to tackle the severe housing crisis.
In its pre-budget submission, the association outlines 10 “fixes,” including expanding Ontario’s HST rebate to all new home purchasers, rolling back municipal development charges and changing the system, digitizing the approvals process and supporting off-site construction methods.
“The numbers speak for themselves and they are alarming,” said RESCON president Richard Lyall, in a statement. “Housing starts have evaporated precisely when Ontario needs new homes the most. This is not a market correction – it is a systemic failure that demands immediate government leadership. The Ontario budget is an opportunity for the province to make real inroads.”
According to RESCON, the housing cost-to-income ratio in Ontario now exceeds 9:1, placing home ownership increasingly out of reach for many families.
In the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area alone, figures show single-family home sales are down 71 per cent and condo sales have plunged 90 per cent.
Housing affordability challenges have been decades in the making, a release notes, but the Ontario government is uniquely positioned to lead, given its jurisdiction over taxes, housing policy, infrastructure funding and municipal governance.
“Housing should not be taxed like alcohol or tobacco as it is a basic economic necessity,” added Lyall. “If we want a prosperous, competitive Ontario, we must restore the conditions that allow builders to build and consumers to buy or rent homes at attainable prices. The present situation is unsustainable and, if further action is not taken, will only lead to more pain for Ontarians.”
The pre-budget submission recommends the following:
- Ontario’s HST rebate be expanded to all new home purchasers for homes up to $1.3 million.
- Municipal development charges be rolled back to 2015 levels for three years.
- A new provincial infrastructure funding model be created to reduce reliance on development charges.
- Municipal and provincial land transfer taxes be suspended on new and never-occupied homes for three years.
- Planning and approvals processes across Ontario be digitized and standardized designs and as-of-right modalities be applied.
- Offsite and innovative construction methods be supported.
- Measures to advance PropTech and ConTech adoption be implemented.
- Foreign buyer bans for new housing, particularly highrise projects, be removed.
- Public-private partnerships be expanded to accelerate housing delivery.
- Housing programs, such as MURB and Limited Dividend Company models, be reactivated.
“Incremental or piecemeal measures will not be sufficient as Ontario has fallen far behind global leaders in housing delivery,” he said. “Currently we rank second last among OECD countries for development approval timelines, underscoring the urgent need for bold, systemic reform. Our members know how to build homes. The time for decisive action is now.”
Click here for the entire pre-budget submission.
