Housing Accelerator Fund
The City of Waterloo has been awarded $23.4 million in funding from the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF). This program, established by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), provides financial support to local governments to address housing affordability and supply challenges in their communities.
The City of Waterloo will use this grant to support a housing action plan that will increase the supply of housing, accelerate the construction of new housing (including new affordable housing), create greater certainty in the development approvals and building permit process, and support long lasting systemic changes
Fund amount: $23.4 million
Outcome: 675 new housing units in three years (over and above our historical housing growth)
Waterloo's HAF Action Plan
The City of Waterloo HAF Action Plan contains nine initiatives:
- Municipal Lands Program
Use identified municipally-owned lands for affordable and attainable housing.
Status: launched - Employment Land Conversion
Review employment land needs and amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit a mix of employment, commercial and residential 'as of right' on certain lands that were previously designated for employment purposes.
Status: complete - Corridor Expansion Study and Plan
Expand “missing middle”, transit supportive housing options in an area near the City’s post secondary institutions and public transit.
Status: launched - Online Development Application Submission/Approvals System
Create an online submission portal and application review system to track, integrate and expedite the development approval processes.
Status: launched - Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition Program
Develop a Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition program to enable the purchase of market rental buildings and/or units for affordable housing by mission-aligned not-for-profit housing providers, co-operatives and community land trusts.
Status: launched - Additional Residential Unit Toolkit and Financial Incentives
Create a webpage that helps homeowners understand the process, steps, requirements and costs associated with the construction of Additional Residential Units (ARUs), as well as the financial incentives to encourage homeowners to build market and affordable ARUs.
Status: launched - Community Planning Permit System
Adopt a land use planning tool which combines Zoning By-law Amendments, Minor Variances and Site Plan applications into one single application and approval process, enabling housing to reach the market more quickly.
Status: launched - Parking Framework / Approval Process Update
Review and update of the City's parking requirements for new development to make optimal use of land and promote affordability. Create a streamlined process and monitoring framework for reviewing further reduced parking requests for developments containing affordable units.
Status: launched - Enable redevelopment of Places of Worship for housing
Update the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit multi-unit housing on Places of Worship properties to reduce cost, uncertainty and time associated with securing planning approvals.
Status: launched
Affordable Housing Strategy
The City of Waterloo HAF Action Plan will help to implement actions identified in the Affordable Housing Strategy. Approved by council in 2023, our Affordable Housing Strategy (PDF) aims to:
- Plan for and enable a greater supply and mix of housing
- Plan for and prioritize non-market (subsidized) and temporary housing
- Optimize the use of existing housing and protect the affordable housing supply
- Provide incentives to build affordable housing
- Build city and community capacity, awareness and supports for affordable housing
The nine initiatives are also part of the City of Waterloo's work to meet the objectives of our Complete Community strategic priority, including:
- Collaborate with area municipalities and community partners on housing initiatives in our community.
- Implement the Affordable Housing Strategy to increase the supply and mix of affordable housing.
- Carry out and monitor the City's Housing Pledge, planning for 16,000 new units by 2031 (the 675 new units as part of the HAF actions are in addition to our pledge).
- Optimize the use of City-owned lands to achieve strategic objectives.
Stay informed
Click +Follow at the top of the page for updates to get the latest news and information on the City of Waterloo's HAF Action Plan.
