Federally administered affordable housing to get continued subsidies
Amid a sustained trend of elevated prices and scarce supply in the nation’s residential real estate markets, Canada’s government is stepping up its efforts in ensuring affordable housing for the ones who need it the most.
The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), has announced late last week that $38 million will be allotted as funding for Phase I of the Federal Community Housing Initiative over a two-year period.
This tranche of funds is intended for “a temporary extension of subsidies to maintain affordability for low-income households and protect tenants living in federally administered community housing projects while housing providers’ transition to a new rental support program and prepare for modernization through Phase II,” CMHC stated.
Read more: Over 50,000 affordable housing units to arise in 10 years
“Phase 1 of the Federal Community Housing Initiative is a critical part of this plan, and with this announcement we are one step closer to realizing the vision of the strategy. Protecting households from losing an affordable place to live is a concrete action towards making sure Canadians have housing that meets their needs and that they can afford,” Duclos said.
Phase I will continue to provide subsidies for federally administered community housing providers with long-term operating agreements that have ended or that are coming to an end between April 1, 2016 and February 28, 2020. Said providers “will continue to receive the same level of subsidy currently provided under existing agreements until March 31, 2020.”
In a bid to reduce chronic homelessness by 50%, the federal government’s National Housing Strategy is slated to invest $500 million over 10 years to protect affordability for tenants, along with stabilizing the operations of approximately 55,000 units of federally administered community housing projects.
