“Unlocking Ontario's Housing Market: New Bill Aims to Transform Affordability and Accessibility”
The Ontario government has introduced Bill 97, the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act (HHPA), aiming to improve housing accessibility and affordability. This legislation focuses on three key areas: supporting landlords and tenants, streamlining land-use planning policy, and assisting homebuyers.
For landlords and tenants, the proposed changes include clearing the Landlord and Tenant Board backlog by investing $6.5 million for additional adjudicators and improved training. Other measures include clarifying rules on air conditioning installation and strengthening protections against evictions. Fines for bad faith evictions under the Residential Tenancies Act are set to double, and new regulations will encourage more rental housing construction.
To streamline land-use planning policy, the government plans to combine the Provincial Policy Statement and the Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Proposed changes include increasing the housing supply by requiring municipalities to offer diverse housing options, promoting construction near transit stations, and allowing multigenerational farming families to build additional residences on their properties.
To further support homebuyers, the province is proposing regulatory changes to provide unlimited deposit protection insurance for First Home Savings Accounts, which were introduced by the federal government to help first-time buyers save up to $40,000 tax-free. The government is also considering a cooling-off period for new freehold home purchases and requiring builders to inform customers about this policy, as well as seeking feedback on requiring new home buyers to receive legal advice on their purchase agreements.
