The city of Hamilton has developed a new housing “road map” aimed at tackling the affordability crisis in the city. The strategy, which is intended to deliver immediate action while also playing the long game, is based on four pillars: building, buying, repairing, and supporting affordable housing.
To implement this strategy, a new housing secretariat has been created to coordinate and synchronize efforts across different city departments and with community partners. The secretariat will be responsible for tapping investors to raise funds for affordable housing projects and securing public land, including surplus school board properties, for affordable housing.
The road map’s first pillar focuses on constructing affordable housing. The goal is to build 350 “moderately” affordable rentals a year to fill a gap between deeply affordable units and pricier private apartments. By creating this “pipeline” of non-profit-operated units at 125% of average market rent now, Hamilton hopes to ensure a supply that will be below-market in coming years and lead to a greater share of the housing market.
The second pillar of the strategy aims to encourage “social purpose capital investors” to provide financing and create an “acquisition assistance fund.” According to Jim Dunn, a McMaster University professor and Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative director who is advising the city on the road map, buying existing buildings is less expensive than building new ones and can avoid such hurdles as zoning challenges. The challenge has been financing this and allowing organizations to be nimble, he said.
The third pillar emphasizes the preservation and retention of existing affordable units. Measures such as resolving landlord-tenant disputes and expanding affordable housing benefits to tenants can help keep their units affordable without building them a new house, Dunn explained.
The fourth pillar centers on developing 200 permanent supportive housing units to help those with complex mental-health and addiction challenges stay off the streets. This $8.9-million program would rightsize a previous $5-million request to the province to support roughly 100 tenants based on burgeoning demand. Angie Burden, general manager of the healthy and safe communities department, which includes the housing portfolio, noted that 200 units would meet the current need.
The road map’s “whole of Hamilton approach” is intended to be nimble, holistic, and action-oriented rather than relying on one-off initiatives pitched for council approval. Hamilton hopes that this approach will help shore up the affordability crisis and make a significant difference in the community.
Over the past decade, Hamilton has lost nearly 16,000 apartments that rented for less than $750 a month while adding only 550 affordable housing units. Housing expert Steve Pomeroy, a McMaster professor and executive adviser to the collaborative, found that for every new unit funded, 29 existing homes were lost in an analysis. As housing costs rise, support from senior levels of government is drying up after a wave of provincial funding for homelessness programs flowed to the city during the COVID-19 pandemic.
City manager Janette Smith said the municipality has yet to fill the secretariat’s director role, having posted the position at least twice. However, an interim director has been brought on board, and a coordinator and community adviser round out the secretariat. The city’s road map also includes participating in a Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Lab with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to explore financing models. The lab is set to launch next month.
Overall, Hamilton’s new housing road map emphasizes a “whole of Hamilton approach” and is intended to make a significant difference in the community by addressing the city’s affordability crisis through building, buying, repairing, and supporting affordable housing.
