New building powers for universities unveiled in proposed Ontario housing legislation

The Ford government is tabling new housing legislation, aimed at building homes faster in the province and achieving its goal of having 1.5 million new homes in Ontario by 2031.

Housing Minister Paul Calandra says the government's "Cutting Red Tape to Build More Homes Act" includes a number of changes, such as giving universities more power to build student housing on its land, giving municipalities the ability to address stalled developments and will prioritize ready-to-go housing projects.

The act will, if passed, require ministries to develop new business service standards for building permits. The government says it would reduce regulatory burden, make processes more transparent and cut down on project delays.

"These measures recognize the struggles that our municipal partners have faced in building homes and are targeted at removing those obstacles," said Housing Minister Paul Calandra in a statement. "We're not going to micromanage and dictate a 'one-size-fits-all' approach across the province. Municipalities know their communities best — they know where it makes sense to build homes."

The legislation would also exempt public universities from the Planning Act to speed up the building of new student housing units.

"Removing barriers faced by universities when building student housing shows how we can find innovative ways to get shovels in the ground sooner," said Jill Dunlop, minister of colleges and universities, in a statement.

"By requiring postsecondary institutions to publish their student housing policies, we're also ensuring students have access to and are aware of student housing options that are safe, affordable and within an easy commute to campus," she added.

The government says by exempting universities from the Planning Act, schools could build higher density student residences. Universities would also be able to avoid planning application fees.

Opposition parties said Tuesday they were concerned about the government inflating its housing start targets by including student housing. The government confirmed Wednesday this legislation will not include student housing toward its housing numbers at this point.

"This government's attempt to pad the numbers by including dorms as part of the housing targets, I think Ontarians will see through that," NDP leader Marit Stiles said Tuesday.

The government set a goal of constructing 1.5 million new homes by 2031 to alleviate a severe housing crunch that has contributed to high real estate prices and rents.

Ontario's spring budget shows the pace of new home construction is picking up in the province, with 88,000 housing starts projected in 2024, but is still far off the levels needed to get to the government's target. Calandra has previously indicated that Ontario needed to be building at least 125,000 homes this year, ramping up to at least 175,000 per year in the near future.

The government said it is also doing away with parking minimums for new builds near transit stations. The housing minister says it will allow for more mixed-use communities with housing, retail and office space close to public transit.

"We're building homes faster and at a lower cost," he said. "Including by letting homeowners and builders decide the right number of parking spaces in new residential developments near transit."