Toronto expands affordable housing efforts with $50M fund to acquire vacant condominiums amid market glut

Michael Lewis

Special to Ontario Construction News

Toronto has expanded its housing acquisition programs to support the purchase of condominiums — some vacant for months and deeply discounted amid a glut of new units — to bring them into the city’s affordable housing fold.

“We often get approached by people who are interested in finding partners to buy units that are currently unoccupied or available, so we have changed some of our programs to enable that to happen,” Abigail Bond, the executive director of the city’s Housing Secretariat, said at Toronto city council’s regular meeting on Thursday.

She said the city will provide funding to eligible community housing providers who buy vacant condominiums, and those slated for completion within six to 12 months, to be offered as rent geared to income residences. The units could also help alleviate crowding at Toronto’s emergency shelter housing system.

The city’s interest in condominium buying comes as high lending rates and soaring construction material costs have left the Toronto and Hamilton condo market with second quarter unsold inventory of 25,893 units, a record number and more than 60 per cent higher than the 10-and 20-year averages, according to Urbanation.

The condominium market researcher says condominiums represent more than half of all new home development, one third of all resale housing activity, and more than one quarter of total rental apartment supply in the Greater Toronto Area

Bond said Toronto has so far earmarked $50 million to buy condominiums, with Toronto in June modifying its multi-unit residential acquisition (MURA) program so that city-funded partners can purchase blocks of units to bolster the supply of affordable rental properties.

She said MURA has been tweaked to expand the categories of units eligible for purchase, suggesting that the city initiative can be “stacked together” with financial supports available through Ottawa’s affordable housing acquisition programs.

Bond said housing staff typically look to buy entire buildings or large numbers of units to better manage fees and other costs but would never close the door on an attractive offer. “We’re definitely open to taking a look at whatever’s out there,” she said, adding that a report on condominium acquisitions will be presented for council’s review, likely in early fall.

Her comments came as council considered a staff report on the progress of affordable housing projects on city-owned and city-supported (non-profit owned) sites, including five that staff said will be ready for occupancy between 2025 and 2027. The report also provided an update on due diligence work on forty potential sites for construction of affordable housing in Toronto.

Eglinton-Lawrence councillor Mike Colle, however, said $50 million won’t go far in acquiring condos and covering maintenance fees, suggesting ratepayers would be better served if the city focused on what it can do as a public provider of affordable housing, since the  private sector is “basically out of the building market now except for purpose-built rentals.”

City council at its meeting, meanwhile, also directed city staff to report by the end of 2024 on private property stormwater programs in the wake of record rainfall in Toronto in July and major flooding that shut down the Don Valley Parkway and inundated subway stations and homeowners’ basements.

Staff are to gather public input on programs and incentives for homeowners to reduce runoff and recommend ways to enhance green infrastructure in urban areas. The city has also opened the door to a potential stormwater charge, dubbed a rain tax by critics, which would only apply to industrial and commercial properties.

Mayor Olivia Chow introduced a motion approved with amendments to launch consultations on flood mitigation strategies that could include the stormwater charge and incentives to encourage commercial property owners to adopt permeable surfaces that allow water to seep into the ground, rather than running off into city sewage systems. Consultations could begin next month.

Toronto-Danforth councillor Paula Fletcher said extreme rain and flooding emphasizes the need for an approach to infrastructure and housing development that allows for more green space.

“We must be careful in keeping our green space … to not have every inch covered by parking and buildings because that’s what some people think is a good idea.

“If you don’t need to pave your front yard don’t pave your front yard,” she said.

“Keeping green space for filtration is one of the most important things we can do to prevent flooding.”