Not all Ontarians want to live in the same type of home or neighbourhood. Some want to own, some want to rent, some want to live in non-profit or social housing. Some want to live in high-rise buildings; others want to live in low-rise apartments or multi-unit houses because of the conveniences they offer. Some want to live in a suburban home on a large property with lots of space, while to others, this is both unaffordable and impractical because it means living away from friends, family, services, and shops they’d rather access by walking, cycling, or taking transit.
As we age and grow, our needs and preferences change. Families need larger units. Many older people living in houses want to move into smaller, more accessible and/or supportive homes in their own community. Younger people, new Canadians, students, and low-yo-moderate income households want and need a choice of appropriately sized apartments in different types of buildings — and particularly rental units.
We need housing choices to reflect the wide range of needs and wants. That’s why we must ensure new housing construction provides a healthy variety of housing types and sizes.
The good news is that a lot of work has already been done by housing experts to identify what sort of housing choices we need and want. In general, there is huge demand for one-to three-bedroom homes.
In recent decades, too few of these homes have been built, with most in the suburbs and very few in high-rise apartment buildings. Today, there is growing demand for homes in multi-residential, low-rise, and mid-rise buildings, often called the “missing middle.” To address this need, municipalities have increasingly been modernizing their planning rules to allow mid-rise buildings along many streets, as well as additional units in existing houses or in garden suites and laneway units — while also requiring units with more bedrooms and/or purpose-built rental units. However governments will need to go further to update planning laws and building codes to make it easier for all types of multi-residential housing to be built, in order to increase choice.
For those who want to live in suburban homes, housing experts have shown that the supply will increase dramatically as our aging population moves out of existing single-family homes and into smaller units in low-rise and mid-rise buildings.
We also need to be deliberate about helping Indigenous Peoples build the housing options they need. Many expert reports written by and for Indigenous Peoples show how this can be accomplished. Building to ensure there is a variety of housing types and sizes available means people can choose the housing best suited for them. For this to be realized, governments need to set the rules for all housing providers (private, public, non-profit) to build the homes we need and want.
Identify and plan for the mix of unit sizes (e.g., one-bedroom, two-bedroom) and types (e.g., multi-unit houses, multi-tenant units, low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise) needed and in what quantity, based on demographic and immigration projections.
Develop a comprehensive seniors housing program that identifies their future housing needs.
Develop a student housing program that identifies their future housing needs.
Change planning laws to require construction of the unit sizes needed within a mix of different building types (e.g., multi-unit houses, multi-tenant units, low-rise, mid-rise, high-rise).
Use appropriate financial tools to ensure construction of needed housing types and sizes.
Change planning laws to ensure various building types can be built along main streets, transit stations and corridors, public lands, surplus commercial lands, and residential neighbourhoods to ensure there is a liveable mix of housing in all neighbourhoods.
Keep existing buildings that provide a needed range of units from being demolished by helping non-profit housing providers buy the buildings.
Provide 99-year leases of public land to non-profit housing providers that want to build a mix of building and unit types for lower income Ontarians.
Work with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples to enable Indigenous-led housing development projects to be built and to support culturally appropriate housing solutions that ensure access to safe and adequate housing, and help advance self-determination and reconciliation.
Tie provincial and municipal infrastructure funding to the construction of a mix of housing types that meet the projected needs of seniors, students, new immigrants, and other Ontarians.
