Large centers must stop imposing maximum density on real estate projects and be required to reduce the tax burden imposed on non-profit real estate projects, argues a committee of Canadian experts seeking solutions to the housing crisis that hits the country.
The independent working group on housing and climate, made up of around fifteen experts, particularly in town planning and architecture, as well as several former politicians, produced a detailed plan of around sixty pages including a ten recommendations intended for different levels of government. The objective of this approach: to facilitate the achievement of the target set by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, according to which 5.8 million properties should be built across the country by 2030 in order to restore the affordability of the real estate market for Canadians.
In this sense, the authors of the report, released this Tuesday, propose in particular that cities and provinces stop imposing a maximum density on real estate projects in certain sectors, so that they can accommodate more housing. The members of this working group believe in particular that high-rise real estate developments should be authorized in areas served by public transport, with a view to sustainable development. “It doesn’t make sense to have low density around areas where there is a good public transportation network, like the [Réseau express métropolitain] », illustrates in an interview Lisa Raitt, former federal minister of Transport and member of this group, joined by The duty ahead of the publication of this report obtained under embargo.
Conversely, new construction should be prohibited in flood-prone areas or areas that have been prey to forest fires in the past, the intensity of which has increased in recent years, note the members of this group. work. “We must ensure that people do not build in areas where it is doomed to failure”, since their homes will be destroyed there in the coming years by the vagaries of the climate, underlines Mme Raitt.
Differentiated treatment
The report also recommends that 40% of the 5.8 million units that will be built in the country be non-profit housing, and therefore protected from real estate speculation. To help achieve this target, the report recommends that Canadian cities “waive development charges and property taxes on all forms of housing whose affordability is guaranteed for 40 years.”
“What we are asking at the municipal level is differentiated treatment in favor of the non-profit sector”, so that private developers develop a greater appetite for the construction of affordable housing, explains Adam Mongrain in an interview , director of housing files at Vivre en ville. “There are many of our measures which go in the direction of reducing the costs of carrying out new construction so that non-profit projects can find buyers,” he notes. The report also calls on public authorities to make it easier to convert offices into housing in city centers, as is already happening in some places.
As budget season approaches, both from the provinces and the federal government, Lisa Raitt is optimistic about the place they will give to the housing crisis, which is at the heart of concerns of Canadians. “Governments will want to act, and quickly,” she hopes.