Horwath unveils Homes You Can Afford housing plan

NDP promises help on down payments, direct financial support for renters

HAMILTON — Official Opposition NDP Leader Andrea Horwath unveiled a comprehensive plan Monday to make it easier for Ontarians to afford a good home. Homes You Can Afford increases supply, helps first-time buyers with their down payment, and gives renters financial help and more security.

“Young people should be able to get a safe, affordable place of their own when they’re ready. Folks should be able to rent without the constant threat of eviction or bank-breaking rent hikes. And buying a home should not be out of reach for hardworking families,” said Horwath.

“But for decades, Conservative and Liberal governments have made the housing crisis worse and worse. We’ve heard from young couples who put off growing their family because they can’t afford a bigger place. We’ve heard from families stuck in rental units that are too cramped, run down, or even unsafe, because they can’t find a new place they can afford in their community.”

Within the plan, the Home in Ontario Program (HOP) will help people buy their first place by contributing to their down payment with a shared equity loan of up to 10 per cent of the home’s value. Repayments on the loan won’t be necessary until the homeowner sells or moves out, and homeowners will have the option of buying back the government’s share at any time.

The Homes You Can Afford plan also helps 311,000 households pay the rent with direct financial help, and protects all renters from bad apple landlords, cracking down on renovictions by ending vacancy decontrol.

The NDP plan also builds 69,000 affordable homes and 30,000 homes with supports, in addition to implementing a Housing First strategy to tackle the growing crisis of homelessness, takes on greedy speculators, and increases the supply of homes with a suite of measures.

“For decades, Conservatives and Liberal governments have made the housing crisis worse and worse,” said Horwath. “They keep cooking up rules and loopholes that help billionaire investors swap up properties, leaving everyday people to compete for what’s left, at inflated prices.

“We believe you’ll be better off with a government that makes sure you can find a home you can afford.”

Background

• The NDP’s Homes You Can Afford plan includes capital and operating investments, which are offset by increased revenues specifically and only from actions like non-resident speculation and pre-construction condo flipping.
• The NDP will create a revenue-neutral fund to finance repayable loans as a part of the Home in Ontario Program (HOP). That fund will be self-sustaining. Gains in the fund over time will be used to maintain the fund.
• Implementing the Homes You Can Afford plan will take a capital investment of $90 million to extend the life of 260,000 affordable homes and an average annual investment of $340 million for 10 years to build 69,000 new affordable homes.
• The total additional annual projected revenue is $300 million, all from speculation, non-resident vacancy, taxes on pre-construction condo flipping and licensing short-term rentals — not a dime will come from everyday families who rent or buy in Ontario.
• An NDP government would fund an operating investment of $300 million. That includes $240 million to fund rent subsidies for 311,000 households, $10 million for a co-op seed fund and $50 million to deliver 30,000 supportive housing spaces.