Housing Strategy

This proposal changes how Toronto builds and protects housing by having the city build homes directly and blocking corporate landlords. Instead of relying on private developers, the city will use international strategies to build permanently affordable housing.

Here is exactly what it means for you:

1. The City Becomes the Builder (The Vienna Model)

• City-Owned Apartments: Toronto will stop giving money to private developers and will start building its own apartment communities directly.

• Mixed-Income Buildings: New buildings will feature a mix of tenants: 30% for low-income housing, 40% for middle-class workers/co-ops, and 30% at regular market rent.

• Permanently Affordable: These apartments will stay owned by the city or non-profits forever, locking in low rents for at least 99 years.

2. Fast-Tracked Housing Near Transit (The Tokyo Model)

• Cutting Red Tape: The city will eliminate years of bureaucratic paperwork and neighborhood objections for buildings near subway and transit stations.

• 60-Day Approvals: Any non-profit or city project that promises to keep at least 40% of its units permanently affordable will get automatic approval to build within 60 days.

3. Stopping Corporate "Renovictions" (The Singapore Strategy)

• Buying Back Buildings: The city will give local non-profits and community land trusts the money and the legal "first right" to buy aging apartment buildings and rooming houses when they go up for sale.

• Beating Private Equity: This stops big corporate landlords from buying affordable buildings, kicking out tenants for renovations, and doubling the rent.

4. Building Apartments on Top of Big Stores (The Toronto Focus)

• Using "Air Rights": The city will target billion-dollar companies that own giant, single-storey stores (like big grocery stores or retail chains) along transit lines.

• Build Up or Pay Up: These mega-corporations must either build affordable housing on top of their stores or hand over their roof space to the city on a 99-year lease.

• Cheaper Construction: The city will use lightweight mass-timber to build co-ops right on top of these stores, saving millions of dollars because the land is free.