NDP to help Peel families with down payments, mortgage costs after 50 per cent house price jump

PEEL — With home prices on the rise in Peel, the NDP’s housing plan will make it easier for families to find homes they can afford and fit their needs, said Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath. Homes You Can Afford: The Ontario NDP’s Plan for Housing would help home buyers purchase their first home with down payment cash, and help families convert unused spaces into affordable rentals so they can keep up with mortgage costs.

“Many families in Peel are living in tight conditions – renting a smaller space than they need, or maybe even a place that is in some disrepair, because they can’t afford a home that can accommodate their growing or multi-generational family,” said Horwath. “They save and save for a home, and it’s still not enough to find a decent place they can afford in the community they love. They are priced out of the neighbourhood, forced to move away from family.”

Home prices in Peel have risen at a dizzying pace, according to the MLS® Home Price Index. Since 2015, the actual price of a single family home in the GTA has soared by more than 50 per cent.

“Finding a good home you can afford has been getting harder and harder for families for decades, especially for people looking for multi-generation homes, or homes with a built-in rental for extra income,” said Horwath. “Government after government has been making rules that help corporations and billionaires snatch up properties, leaving everyone else to compete over what’s left.”

The NDP’s Homes in Ontario Program would give home buyers home equity loans of up to 10 per cent of the purchase price of their first home to help cover the cost of the down payment. A new Residents’ Rights Act would help people bring in extra money to pay their mortgage by making it inexpensive and safe to convert basements, garages or floors into affordable rentals.

Helping people create basement units and granny flats will mean more homes people can afford for renters, and that’s on top of the 69,000 new affordable homes the NDP is proposing to build. Homes You Can Afford will also better protect tenants from poor living conditions, and help 311,000 households pay their rent.

“Whether you have lived in your neighbourhood for generations, or are newly putting down roots in the province, the NDP will help Ontario families afford homes that can be cherished by your parents, grandparents, and children,” said Horwath. “A New Democrat government will ensure today’s Ontarians have the same opportunities many of our parents and grandparents did, including a chance to plant roots for your family, and watch them grow.”

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Sukhdeep Dhillon
“Earlier this year I was looking to purchase a house in Brampton so I could be ready to begin my family life when my wife moved here, but as I was looking I quickly realized that on one salary alone it’s extremely hard to purchase a house in Brampton. I am now upgrading my skills and education to get a better job because it is clear to me that only with a high paying job will I be able to afford to live in Brampton. The housing market currently is unaffordable and even gathering the down payment for a house is proving to be a struggle.”

Background

• An Ontario NDP government will create a new Residents’ Rights Act to make it easier for homeowners to convert an unused garage, basement or floor of their home into an affordable rental home.
• Under the NDP’s Homes in Ontario Program (HOP), first-time home buyers with household incomes under $200,000 would be able to access home equity loans of up to 10 per cent to help with their down payment. Home owners would then have the flexibility to buy back the government’s share or repay the loan only if and when they move and sell their home.
• The NDP will create a revenue-neutral fund to finance repayable loans as a part of the HOP. That fund will be self-sustaining. Gains in the fund over time will be used to maintain the fund.
• Implementing the entire 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.