Item - 2017.PG23.11

The Planning and Growth Management Committee:

1.  Requested the Acting Chief Planner and Executive Director, City Planning to report to the Planning and Growth Management Committee in the second quarter of 2018 on a policy framework that protects dwelling rooms similar to policies in the Official Plan that provide for the protection of affordable rental units. 

In today’s housing market we have seen a variety of challenges facing individuals and as such we need to employ a variety of approaches to maintain the supply of affordable housing.  We have seen rents rise significantly over the past few years and we have seen some housing being removed from the supply to be used for purposes other than what it was originally constructed for.  In addition, we have lost hundreds of affordable dwelling rooms through redevelopment. This type of housing is a limited resource and needs to be maintained. Tenants living in dwelling rooms are often lower-income with limited resources.  In the absence of assistance, tenants are at risk of ending up in the City’s already overburdened shelter system. 

The current Official Plan policies aim to maintain the stock of existing affordably priced rental housing through requirements for the replacement of rental units and provision of tenant assistance to lessen the hardship faced by tenants forced to relocate.  These policies have been successful in maintaining the supply of affordable rental units across the City.

Developing a policy approach that treats dwelling rooms and tenants living in this housing similar to those in self-contained units will reinforce the City’s policy objectives for maintaining affordable housing. As such I would request that the Planning and Growth Management Committee request: