More Housing And Building Projects Coming To Mississauga Soon
Published September 24, 2019 at 5:43 pm
The province is making updates to its Building Code after considering the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s recent report Fixing the Housing Affordability Crisis.
Housing affordability has been a major issue in many cities across Ontario. Homes are fewer and further between, so buyers are paying more month-over-month.
With a widening supply and demand gap, buyers are returning to the housing market to find themselves with less choice and increased competition. In fact, Mississauga remains in strong sellers’ market territory. A total of 779 homes changed hands in August, up a robust 9.7 per cent. That well outpaced a 2.3 per cent uptick in new listings.
The gap has pushed year-over-year prices up 7 per cent to an average of $732,549, while the sales-to-new-listings (SNLR) ratio rose to 67 per cent from 62 per cent last year.
The government’s new updates aim to speed up the construction of new housing and building projects in municipalities.
“For many years the building sector and the public have been calling on the government to do a better job of providing a range of services related to the Building Code,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark at a media conference in Mississauga today. “We are proposing some solutions and are launching a consultation to find out what people think.”
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The government is proposing to create an administrative authority, a not-for-profit corporation that helps ensure Ontario’s consumer protection and public safety laws are applied and enforced.
The corporation would develop digital tools to support municipal e-permitting, help municipal governments increase the number of building inspectors in Ontario, introduce continuing professional development to make sure registered building code professionals remain up-to-date on Building Code requirements, and provide support to rural northern municipalities to help them deliver local building services.
The province will also aim to strengthen enforcement tools to address non-compliance with the Building Code.
Additionally, the government released a new innovation guide today, which provides a guideline for homeowners looking to add a second unit, like a basement apartment, to their home.
According to the government, second units can help address the shortage of lower-cost rental housing as well as produce additional income for the owner.
“This guide is a useful tool to homeowners who are looking to create new rental units as well as the municipalities who approve the suites,” said Matt Farrell, President of the Ontario Building Officials Association (OBOA). “It translates complex building code language into user-friendly information that will help all applicants as they move through the process of developing secondary suites.”
The public and building sector professionals are invited to share their thoughts on the proposed changes online until November 25.
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