More Rental Housing Could be Coming to Mississauga

Affordable housing is hard to come by in Mississauga -- not everyone can afford to live here. Now, the province is investing in Ontario's rental housing supply and it just might bring more rental housing to Mississauga.

The province recently announced that it's boosting rental supply for individuals and families, so more development is definitely coming to communities across Ontario.

Basically, Ontario will have a rebate program on development charges for new rental housing. With the rebate, the province aims to encourage more rental housing construction and "bring more fairness to the rental market."

Municipalities do indeed collect charges to help pay for infrastructure like transit, water mains, and roads.

How much of these charges will the province rebate, you ask?

Well, Ontario is set to rebate up to a whopping $125 million in development charges over the next five years, province-wide.

That is, for "priority purpose-built rental developments in municipalities with low vacancy rates or high tenant populations, where affordable rentals are hard to find."

Mississauga is one of those municipalities -- affordable rentals can be hard to find here, depending on several factors, like household size and income.

It's true that the rebate program for development charges is part of Ontario's Fair Housing Plan. Hopefully, this initiative will help stabilize the real estate market and help people find affordable homes.

"Building more rental housing not only helps individuals and families find places to live, it creates strong, vibrant communities," said Peter Milczyn, Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy.

It's no secret that there's a lack of rental housing in Ontario. In fact, according to the Ministry of Housing, only six per cent of housing built over the last 20 years has been market rental housing.

As for next steps, the province is going to invite cities to participate in the rebate program very soon. It remains to be seen whether our city will participate, but we'll keep you updated on the details.