The City of Brampton is looking to take advantage of a provincial program that would rebate municipal development charges for developers looking to build affordable rental housing units.

At its Feb. 21 meeting, council received a staff report recommending the city enter into a funding transfer agreement with the Ministry of Housing to access part of a $125 million fund for priority-built rental developments.

As part of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan announced in April 2017, the province will make $25 million per year available over the next five years to Ontario municipalities to fund the initiative.

“The intent of the program is to increase the supply of purpose-built market rentals by lowering the cost of construction through a rebate of development charges,” wrote strategic development adviser Jacqueline Svedas in the report to council, adding the City of Brampton was part of the consultation process for the program.

“In late 2017, City Council endorsed the framework of Brampton’s affordable housing strategy, Housing Brampton, which is a made-in-Brampton approach for responding to local housing challenges. The strategy focuses on increasing the supply of purpose-built market rental units, as well as affordable ownership units,” added the report.

With a growing population already approaching 600,000, and projected to hit 900,000 by 2041, Brampton is facing a rental housing crunch. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is reporting a paltry 1.3 per cent vacancy rate among all types of purpose-built rental units in the city.

“The demand continues to outpace supply within the purpose-built market rental sector. Since 2012, the city received four development applications for purpose-built market rentals, equating to just over 900 rental units. This does not include Region of Peel Housing units, where the average wait time for subsidized housing averages 6.42 years,” said Svedas.

The City of Brampton, which must provide the program guidelines, is working with the Region of Peel on the application, as the region will be responsible for administering the program and funds through Peel Housing.

The city would be responsible for determining the size, location, cost and types of units eligible for the rebate based on community need. It will also be up to the city to decide both the amount and timing of the rebate.

“With the Region of Peel as the service administrator of the program, the city should not incur any significant staffing costs. Finance staff will be involved in crafting the details of the Program guidelines, with full details in an upcoming report to council,” wrote Svedas.