Ontario announces legislation to expand the province’s (Ontario) housing supply.

Two weeks after the provincial administration submitted Bill 109, the More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, on March 30, 2022, it obtained royal assent on April 14. The last step needed for a legislative measure to become law is royal assent.

The strategy identifies three main areas on which the government is concentrating to tackle the issue. The government announced a number of adjustments to reduce red tape, increase housing production, facilitate the construction of communal housing, and safeguard homebuyers, homeowners, and renters.

According to Global News, The Planning Act and City of Toronto Act 2006 amendments are also included in the pending legislation in order to “streamline site plan requirements and approval procedures and enable governments make decisions within realistic timescales.”

The revisions would mandate that municipal councils delegate site plan control decisions to staff and would be applicable to all applications received on or after July 1. This would also increase the time frame for reviewing site plan control applications from 30 to 60 days.

According to the revisions, site plan application costs would be refunded if plans weren’t approved on time.

Key Changes to the Planning Act

The Planning Act has undergone notable changes, including:

• The launch of a brand-new ministerial zoning tool known as the Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (“CIHA”)
• A proven evaluation process for community benefit charge (“CBC”) by-laws
• Provisions to parkland requirements on territory specified as Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC)
• Mandating localities to refund zoning by-law amendment
• Giving the Minister new authority over some official plan amendments (“OPAs”) and new official plans
• Giving the Minister the authority to issue rules on the use of surety bonds as collateral for requirements that municipalities place on planning clearances.

The Ontario Land Tribunal and the Landlord and Tenant Board have backlogs, and the Ontario government will invest more than $19 million over three years to assist them clear those shortfalls.

The funds would reportedly assist tribunals in hiring additional personnel, including adjudicators who offer unbiased, third-party decision-making so conflicts may be settled more rapidly.

The Ontario government is allocating nearly $464 million annually through an innovative, centralized Homelessness Prevention Program, which began on April 1 2022, to help address and prevent homelessness.