Housing That Works For All Of Us

All of us deserve a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. Over the past four years we have built or broken ground on over 1,000 affordable units, opened new supportive housing, and strengthened the protections renters depend on.

There is much more to do, and much more to deliver: as your councillor, I will use every tool available – including City-owned land, new taxes on vacant properties, and stronger tenant protections – to ensure that Toronto Centre remains a place where people at every income level can live.

Delivered!

Housing Built & Under Construction

More than 10,000 new home construction starts.
Over 1,000 affordable housing units and over 800 new student housing units in Toronto Centre.
New co-operative housing at 405 Sherbourne.
65 supportive housing units at 500 Dundas Street East.
600 new affordable housing units in Regent Park Phases 4 and 5.
New Housing Action Plan to build 285,000 new units, including 41,000 affordable rentals and 65,000 rent-controlled units.
Expanded housing options city-wide, including rooming house regulations, multiplexes, and expanded zoning allowances on main streets.
New City of Toronto Public Builder Model to build new housing faster.
Modernized Toronto's affordable housing criteria to be based on income, not just average market rent.
George Street Revitalization to break ground this fall, to create a modern, dignified facility for residents.

Protections for Renters That Keep Housing Affordable

New, expanded RentSafeTO with Colour Coding.
New renovictions by-law for bad faith evictions.
Strengthened tenant protections by ensuring repairs are done and charging landlords who refuse.
Eviction Prevention in the Community (EPIC) program and increased Rent Bank budget.
$350,000 for additional Tenant Support, $800,000 for Eviction Prevention in the Community, and $1.4 million to create a Rental Renoviction License Program.
Expanded the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) program, with $165 million awarded since 2022 to preserve the affordability of 1,000 rental homes across the city.
Increased the Vacant Home Tax and strengthened short-term rental regulations to return more units to the rental market.
Strengthened rental demolition and replacement policies and closed gaps in the Tenant Assistance and Relocation Plan.
Expedited a Maximum Temperatures Bylaw to protect renters from unsafe living conditions.
Advocated to the provincial government to reintroduce rent control.
Worked directly with tenants in Toronto Community Housing buildings in St. James Town, Moss Park, and Regent Park to get repairs done and improve safety and maintenance.

Support for People at Every Step of their Housing Journey

Over 8,000 households housed into rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing from the centralized waitlist.
3,263 people moved from shelters into permanent housing.
Hosted 25 Housing Clinics and secured a dedicated St. James Town Housing Worker to connect residents directly to housing resources.
New Interdivisional Protocol for Encampments in Allan Gardens, Barbara Hall Park, Moss Park, St. James Park, and the Yonge Street Linear Parks.
10-Year Homelessness Services Strategy city-wide.
New Shelter Capital Plan to make shelters safer and more accessible all across the city.
Opened warming centres sooner and increased the budget for Toronto Shelter and Support Services.
Casey House improvements to better serve residents living with HIV/AIDS.

What's Next

Building Affordable & Supportive Housing

Prioritize City-Owned Land: Prioritize surplus and underutilized city-owned land for deeply affordable, rent-controlled, and supportive housing developments with the wraparound services that make them work.
Public Delivery of Housing: Pursue public delivery of supportive and affordable housing to ensure long-term affordability and community control.
George Street Revitalization: Ensure the George Street Revitalization continues to progress and delivers on its commitment to supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Wellesley Houses: Advance affordable housing opportunities at unused TCHC owned properties on Wellesley Street East.
Co-operative Housing: Support new co-operative housing models as a community-controlled, permanently affordable alternative to the private market.
Expand MURA Funding: Expand the Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition program to prevent the loss of existing affordable rental units to the private market.

Protecting Renters

Strengthen RentSafeTO: Increase funding for RentSafeTO enforcement, lower the threshold to include all rental units, and direct inspectors to conduct in-unit inspections.
Universal Work Order Form: Provide tenants with a standardized work order form template to submit service requests to their landlords and create a clear paper trail.
LTB Reform: Advocate to the Province for Landlord and Tenant Board reform, including in-person hearings and expanded Legal Aid for tenants.
Rent Control & Vacancy Control: Continue to advocate to the Province for rent control on all units and vacancy control to prevent rent spikes between tenancies.
Combat Above Guideline Increases: Support the City taking a more active role and using all the tools at its disposal to challenge Above Guideline Increases and protect renters from eviction.

Health & Safety in the Home

Maximum Temperature By-law: Implement a maximum indoor temperature by-law of 26 degrees to protect renters' health and wellbeing during extreme heat.
Air Conditioner Access: Expand the Air Conditioner Assistance Program and merge it with the Hardship Fund and the ODSP/OW AC benefit to simplify access for low-income residents.
TCHC Safety & Security: Conduct safety and security audits across TCHC buildings and implement improvements to ensure residents feel safe in their homes.

Unlocking More Housing Supply

Vacant Home Tax: Increase the Vacant Home Tax from 3% to 5% to discourage speculation and bring more units to market.
Vacant Land Tax: Introduce a new Vacant Land Tax to ensure empty lots in a housing crisis are put to productive use.
As-of-Right Housing: Permit substantially more housing as-of-right in every ward to reduce delays and unlock more development.
Streamline Approvals: Automate routine permits to speed up the approvals process and reduce unnecessary barriers to building.