CENTRE WELLINGTON – According to the province, an affordable home in Centre Wellington costs $427,600 and affordable rent ranges from $1,145 a month for a bachelor to $1,305 for a three-bedroom apartment.
For-profit builders who meet that definition of affordable will not have to pay development charges to Centre Wellington.
CAO Dan Wilson presented a development charges exemption report to council on Jan. 27.
He noted that while affordable housing was made exempt from development charges in Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act of 2022, and Bill 134, the Affordable Homes and Good Jobs Act of 2023, “we’ve been waiting for confirmation of affordable and what calculations have to happen.”
With the Affordable Residential Units Bulletin now in hand, the township has the tools to make that calculation and created two templates – one for owned and one for rental units.
The calculation does include the income of the resident, but it’s a little complicated.
According to the bulletin, affordable rental units qualify for the DC exemption when “the rent is no greater than the lesser of:
- “the income of a household that, in the minister’s opinion, is at the 60th percentile of gross annual incomes for renter households in the municipality; and
- “the rent that, in the minister’s opinion, is equal to 30 per cent of the income of the household.”
For affordable home ownership, “the price of the residential unit is no greater than the lesser of:
- “the income of a household that, in the minister’s opinion, is at the 60th percentile of gross annual incomes for households in the applicable local municipality; and
- “90% of the average purchase price identified for the residential unit and would result in annual accommodation costs equal to 30% of the income of the household.”
In these cases, the developer must agree that those units remain affordable for 25 years.
The data will be tracked year over year, and the ministry will update the bulletin periodically.
Non-profit corporations that focus on housing are already exempt from development charges.
Managing director of planning and development Brett Salmon acknowledged that removing development charges on these types of units does lower costs for the developer.
The challenge for the township will be getting the data to ensure units do remain affordable, he said.
“We don’t survey rents in Centre Wellington and neither does CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation). So how we are going to do this is something we have to figure out,” he said.
Salmon added the rents outlined in the bulletin are low for this area, “and I don’t think we’ll see many (applications).
“It could be a problem if we get a bunch at the same time. We’ll have to see how many of these we get.”
Council approved the templates to determine affordable housing projects.
