Building affordable and supportive housing

On February 12, 2024, the federal government announced that the City of Ottawa has been awarded $176.3 million through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). The aim of the HAF is to create more housing supply at an accelerated pace by improving land use planning and development approval processes. From 2024 to 2027, funding will be provided in four equal advances of $44 million annually, provided the City meets project milestones and housing growth targets.

Ottawa City Council approved a HAF spending plan on April 3, 2024, which directs 90 per cent of funds towards the Affordable Housing Pipeline Strategy and the remaining 10 per cent towards the following initiatives:

• Transit Oriented Zoning Amendments and Inclusionary Zoning
• Increasing Zoning Permissions to Allow for Multi-Unit Intensification
• Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan
• Office to Residential Conversion Pilot
• Accelerate Disposal and Preparation of City-owned Lands for Housing
• Streamlining Planning Approvals
• New Comprehensive Zoning By-law and Digital Twin Tool
• Development of an On-Site Stormwater Management Program as outlined in the new Infrastructure Master Plan
• Housing Needs Assessment

The City supports the not-for-profit, co-op and private sectors in the development of affordable and supportive housing. This support advances the objectives of the City’s 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan.

The City’s roles include:

• Managing and allocating funds from Federal, Provincial and Municipal affordable housing programs, to deliver housing affordability for low- and moderate- income households
• Working with housing providers throughout the development of affordable and supportive housing to respond to inquiries and problem-solve
• Creating programs and updating policies related to affordable housing
• Liaising and advocating with other levels of government, community agencies and developers to leverage planning and funding opportunities to deliver more affordable housing
• Building community capacity through partnerships to transfer and share knowledge, skills, and expertise

Definitions

Affordable housing

New housing built since 2001 which is affordable to low- and moderate-income households. These developments provide communities with a range of building types and tenant profiles. Rents are not geared to income, rather they are typically set at 80 per cent of Ottawa’s average market rent, as defined by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Supportive housing

Housing developments that combine rental or housing assistance with on-site, flexible, and voluntary support services. These services may take a variety of forms and vary in intensity based on people’s needs related to physical or mental health, development disabilities and substance use.

Municipal

For information on developing affordable or supportive housing, email affordablehousingunit@ottawa.ca.

Action Ottawa Program

Action Ottawa is the City’s primary affordable housing program. The program assists non-profit and private developers in building new affordable rental housing (via construction or acquisition/conversions). The two streams of funding are Capital construction and Pre-development funding.

Capital construction funding

The City provides incentives to support affordable housing construction activities. Incentives may include, fee relief, capital grants, and in some cases, City-owned land. These incentives are often supported by construction funding from the City and other levels of government. 

For existing funding opportunities, visit MERX or email affordablehousingunit@ottawa.ca.

Pre-development funding

The City provides forgivable loans to support affordable housing pre-development activities, for example, plan and study preparation. The City also waives applicable planning application fees. The aim of this program is to expand and maintain the City’s inventory of construction-ready affordable housing projects.

To be added to the City’s distribution list for upcoming funding opportunities, email affordablehousingunit@ottawa.ca. 

Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan

The affordable housing tax increment equivalent grant program incentivizes the development of affordable rental units in Ottawa. The program provides a fixed grant, for 20 years, of between $6,000 and $8,000 per affordable unit, per year. More information on the program and application process can be found on the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan page.

High Social Impact Projects program

The High Social Impact Projects program is intended to simplify and expedite development approvals for non-profit housing and long-term care projects. The following four initiatives make up the program:

• Prioritize the review of planning applications
• Reduce development review timelines
• Allow alternative site plan security deposit options that reduce the overall amount the City holds as a guarantee for a project
• Utilize a Letter of Undertaking instead of a Site Plan Agreement (determined on a case-by-case basis)

For more information on the program, please see the High Social Impact Projects Program report to Council.

Affordable Housing Pipeline Strategy

The Affordable Housing Pipeline Strategy is one of the City’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) initiatives. In April 2024, Ottawa City Council approved a HAF spending plan, which directs 90 per cent of funds towards this strategy. The strategy aims to:

• Address the growing list of non-profit housing developments prepared to proceed, but for capital funding availability; and 
• Review the process used to manage, advance, and prioritize affordable and supportive housing projects in the development pipeline.

For more information on the initiative, please see the City of Ottawa’s Housing Accelerator Fund Application report to Council. 

Municipal Housing Facility By-law

Municipalities can provide tax exemptions to eligible properties through Municipal Capital Facilities Agreements. The City of Ottawa has updated their Municipal Housing Facilities By-law to:

• revise the definition of “Affordable Housing”
• refine eligibility requirements for tax exempt status
• require savings from tax exemptions to be reinvested into the project as either part of a capital repair reserve fund, or the development of new affordable housing units, or to improve affordability of units in the development
• make necessary administrative updates to the existing by-law

These by-law updates are intended to support non-profit and cooperative housing organizations by providing property tax exemptions. Eligible units include:

1. All Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCHC) affordable housing units rented at or below average market rent (AMR)
2. Affordable units that meet the following requirements:
   1. Are not eligible for exemption under Section 3 of the Assessment Act 1990;
   2. Are owned and/or operated by a registered non-profit or cooperative organization;
   3. Are rented at or below AMR;
   4. Are constructed pursuant to an affordable housing capital contribution or have a rent supplement agreement with the City; and
   5. House individuals from the City’s Centralized Waiting List (CWL), Below-Market Rent (BMR) waitlist, or other similar approved wait list. 

For more information, please see the Affordable Housing Qualification and Property Tax Relief – Municipal Housing Facility By-law report to Committee. For program inquiries, please email housinglogement@ottawa.ca. 

Provincial

Exemptions and discounts from municipal development-related charges 

Bill 23 has provided exemptions from development charges, community benefit charges, and parkland dedication for non-profit and affordable residential units. For more information on the new legislation, please see the More Homes Built Faster Act website and the Municipal development and community benefits charges and parklands website.

Housing In Ontario

Visit Ontario.ca – Building 1.5 million homes to learn about provincial housing initiatives.

Federal

GST and HST rebates for rental housing

On December 15, 2023 the Excise Tax Act was amended to provide GST and HST rebates for purpose-built rental housing. For more information visit GST/HST rebate for purpose-built rental housing (PBRH).

National Housing Strategy

The National Housing Strategy is a set of initiatives led by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) aiming to create “a new generation of housing in Canada.”

The City's 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan 2020-2030 aims to create 5,700 to 8,500 affordable housing options through new units and housing subsidies. As of August 2024, four affordable housing projects and two supportive housing projects are under construction. The details of these six projects follows. For a full list of completed projects contact affordablehousingunit@ottawa.ca.

Affordable housing

Supportive housing