Committees approve long-range financial plan update for housing

The Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committees today approved an updated Housing Services Long Range Financial Plan. The Finance and Corporate Services and Planning and Housing Committees today approved an updated Housing Services Long Range Financial Plan for 2025 through 2030. The updated plan will help the City stay on track with the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan objective of delivering 500 new affordable units annually. Since Council adopted the last plan in March 2021, construction costs and financing rates have increased significantly. To help meet City housing targets in light of the added budget pressure, the City would increase its annual contribution from taxation for affordable housing by $1 million per year for the next six years. This would increase the affordable housing annual base budget capital contribution from $9 million to $15 million by 2030. All net proceeds from the Vacant Unit Tax would also go toward that base budget. With the committed, predictable and sustainable funding available from the City, this will increase annual funding from $18.9 million in 2025 to $22.4 million in 2030 for a total of $122.3 million over six years. These funds will then be supplemented each year by any additional revenues received and designated to affordable housing from the previous year, such as surplus land sales and community benefit charges. These additional revenues are estimated to be $24.3 million over the next six years. Additionally, if changes to the Vacant Unit Tax program are approved, this could add an additional $4 million in 2025 and as much as $27 million over the next six years. The Committees also approved the 2024 Affordable Housing Capital Strategy. The strategy would allocate more than $13.9 million in additional funding for affordable housing that was identified through the 2024 City budget. Funding for specific projects includes: 

• Up to $1.36 million to Shepherds of Good Hope to support the continued development of 48 supportive housing units at 216 Murray Street
• Up to $1.65 million to Centretown Citizens of Ottawa Corporation to support the development of 10 new affordable rental units at 171 Armstrong Avenue
• Up to $3 million to Habitat for Humanity to support construction of affordable home ownership modular projects at two City-owned sites. The City-owned sites would be identified in a separate report, anticipated in Q1 2025
• Up to $6 million to Ottawa Community Housing Corporation to build approximately 90 affordable rental units at 1770 Heatherington Road

Any remaining funds would go to a contingency fund for projects underway, to new and existing projects that need additional funding, to cover non-exempt City fees and charges, and to a revised non-profit pre-development pipeline list for future homes. The joint Committees also approved changes to the Vacant Unit Tax. The City received occupancy declarations in 2023 for 99.6 percent of the 323,182 residential properties across Ottawa. In that first year, the program generated $10.3 million for City housing initiatives. After appeals and audits, about one per cent of residences (3,672 unit) were identified as vacant and were charged the additional tax. Analysis indicates 1,785 properties that were vacant in 2022 are now occupied. Enhancements to the tax regime for 2025 include:

• Updating property eligibility to add another 1,200 residential properties and to exclude farms as residential units
• Adding exemptions for ineligible rural properties, medical care properties and hazardous properties outside of an owner’s control
• Enhancing an existing renovation exemption to remove the building permit requirement for one-time retrofit renovation per property and owner, where the unit is occupied within one year
• Implementing a graduated VUT rate that would increase the tax rate by one per cent per year for repeat vacancies, up to a maximum of five percent of the residential assessed value – this could generate up to $4 million in additional revenue for housing initiatives
• Allowing property owners an additional 15 months to submit late appeals beyond the current deadline, with an administrative fee
• Clarifying by-law terminology

The Finance and Corporate Services Committee met earlier in the day and approved the new 2025-2029 City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan. It also approved the first OC Transpo Accessibility Plan, to meet the new requirements of the Accessible Canada Act. Both plans outline actions to improve accessibility in customer service, information and communications, employment, design of public spaces, and transportation. The City is committed to meeting or exceeding the requirements under the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and to make Ottawa accessible for all. The Committee also received a construction updated on the Ᾱdisōke Project. The project remains on budget and on schedule, with a public opening anticipated in summer 2026. Ᾱdisōke will have food and beverage spaces in the facility. The project team will seek a vendor that incorporates measurable social benefits, since negotiations with a social enterprise were not successful. An extra $600,000 is required for the fit-up of the food and beverage spaces, due to inflation and other market pressures. The total amount will be repaid to the City through future revenues from commercial entities, and is expected to be repaid within 10 years.  Items from today’s meetings will rise to Council on Wednesday, November 13.