The Community Improvement Plan aims to increase affordable rental housing in Mississauga. Through the plan, the City is creating an incentive program to encourage rental housing development.
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Milestones Designate the Community Improvement Plan project area Consider incentive options and program design Engage developers and industry partners Present a report to the Planning Committee for approvalThe Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP) is a citywide project to increase affordable rental housing in Mississauga. The City explored incentives for developers that build rental housing in Mississauga. This happened through consultation with developers and industry partners.
A staff report was presented to Council and approved in July 2024. It outlined a proposed city-run incentive program for affordable rental housing units. The grant program includes $44 million in funding to help get more affordable rental housing built citywide.
The Community Improvement Plan was adopted through By-law 0144-2024. Read the notice of passing for more information.
Applications for the program will be accepted starting in fall 2024 through 2027, or until the funding is fully allocated.
The plan aims to create at least 100 new affordable rental units each year over a three-year period. There’s potential for the program to extend beyond three years.
More rental units can help us increase the rental vacancy rate to our goal of three percent. It will also help us meet municipal housing targets set by the Province of Ontario.
The program will stimulate private and non-profit sector investment in new affordable rental housing through financial incentives. Developers will be able to combine City incentives with those from other levels of government. These may include the Region of Peel Affordable Rental Incentives Program and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation grant or loan programs.
Staff weighed the cost of incentives against improvements to affordability. We also considered recent legislative changes and their impact on affordable rental construction.
New units will need to meet defined affordability criteria to be eligible. Staff explored incentives based on unit type, location, affordability or other factors. The project looked at both financial and non-financial incentives such as:
The City has collected community and industry feedback on the plan through public consultations, including a statutory public meeting held on May 21, 2024. You can review the draft plan that was shared at this meeting.
The findings from these consultations have shaped the final CIP. A final CIP was presented at a virtual Planning and Development Committee on July 29, 2024.
Please stay tuned for other project updates and subscribe to stay informed.
The need for affordable housing is a critical issue, affecting one in three households in Mississauga, and a priority of the City. Renters are facing greater affordability issues than homeowners due to a lack of supply of affordable rental units.
The Affordable Housing Strategy was developed in 2017 to combat affordability issues. As part of the strategy, the plan was launched in 2019 to address low supply of new and existing rental units, as well as low rental vacancy rates.
A Community Improvement Plan allows municipalities to designate a geographic project area where development is needed to address local priorities. A citywide Community Improvement Project Area was designated by Council in July 2019.
The project was put on hold temporarily due to the COVID‑19 pandemic and changing provincial legislation.
In December 2023, the federal government and the City announced a $112.9 million agreement under the Housing Accelerator Fund. The funds will help deliver more homes and improve affordability. Part of that funding is allocated to incentives under this plan.
As of 2023, nearly 90 percent of the Affordable Housing Strategy’s 40 actions are completed or in progress. Mississauga has also pledged to meet the province’s 2051 growth target.
The Affordable Rental Housing CIP is a key action under Growing Mississauga: An Action Plan for New Housing. The action plan identifies steps the City can take to get more homes built, streamline building approvals and make homes more affordable.
For more information on how we’re addressing the housing issue, read about our strategy Making Room for the Middle.