The operative phrase in that entire article "housing without profit".
Until that makes sense in north america, we will not take a page from Europe.
How do we make it make sense?
I'm curious to see if Build Canada Homes is going to include any kind of support for non-market or co-operative housing. I looked it up last year to see what the requirements are to secure funding from CMHC, and I found that unless you're an established developer, and/or have considerable pockets, and/or already own significant areas of empty land, it just isn't feasible to start a new housing co-op from scratch. The barrier to entry is too large.
It should be made easier for smaller co-operatives to get started with buildings under 10 units to better fit as urban infill instead of the current requirement of 32+ units which would need to get pushed to the outskirts of the city where land is cheaper and more available.
I can actually speak to this, I've lived in and been on the board of a housing coop in Manitoba.
Housing coop regulations vary widely by province. BC and Ontario have robust housing coop regulation structures that promote the start and upkeep of coops. Other provinces not as much, but I understand the maritime provinces are catching up.
The CMHC often works with financial partners like credit unions and others to secure interests free loans and grants for startup and capital projects.
If you are in fact interested in starting a coop, contact the cmhc and ask about grants, then work with them to find those grants and start writing. There is a lot of money available for housing coops, it's in provincial governments' interest to let coops govern themselves, rather than managing housing projects.
Do not pursue partnerships with for-profit companies long-term, make sure your financial partners support social housing as a premise before engaging them.
1/3 of the price of a new home in Canada is taxes, so profits for who exactly?
The answer is existing homeowners, which helps places like Toronto have one of the lowest property taxes in the world despite insane prices.
Do you have stats to backup that 1/3 price argument?
From my experience it was more like 5-10% cost was taxes
Explain to me please why existing owners should subsidize the building of city infrastructure in new developments.
I don’t live in Toronto but building new sewers, water systems, roads, community centres etc. shouldn’t be funded by existing taxpayers who still have above ground utility cables and no sidewalks.
We (here in Portugal) also need to take a page from Europe…
The operative phrase in that entire article "housing without profit".
Until that makes sense in north america, we will not take a page from Europe.
How do we make it make sense?
I'm curious to see if Build Canada Homes is going to include any kind of support for non-market or co-operative housing. I looked it up last year to see what the requirements are to secure funding from CMHC, and I found that unless you're an established developer, and/or have considerable pockets, and/or already own significant areas of empty land, it just isn't feasible to start a new housing co-op from scratch. The barrier to entry is too large.
It should be made easier for smaller co-operatives to get started with buildings under 10 units to better fit as urban infill instead of the current requirement of 32+ units which would need to get pushed to the outskirts of the city where land is cheaper and more available.
I can actually speak to this, I've lived in and been on the board of a housing coop in Manitoba.
Housing coop regulations vary widely by province. BC and Ontario have robust housing coop regulation structures that promote the start and upkeep of coops. Other provinces not as much, but I understand the maritime provinces are catching up.
The CMHC often works with financial partners like credit unions and others to secure interests free loans and grants for startup and capital projects.
If you are in fact interested in starting a coop, contact the cmhc and ask about grants, then work with them to find those grants and start writing. There is a lot of money available for housing coops, it's in provincial governments' interest to let coops govern themselves, rather than managing housing projects.
Do not pursue partnerships with for-profit companies long-term, make sure your financial partners support social housing as a premise before engaging them.
1/3 of the price of a new home in Canada is taxes, so profits for who exactly?
The answer is existing homeowners, which helps places like Toronto have one of the lowest property taxes in the world despite insane prices.
Do you have stats to backup that 1/3 price argument?
From my experience it was more like 5-10% cost was taxes
Explain to me please why existing owners should subsidize the building of city infrastructure in new developments.
I don’t live in Toronto but building new sewers, water systems, roads, community centres etc. shouldn’t be funded by existing taxpayers who still have above ground utility cables and no sidewalks.
We (here in Portugal) also need to take a page from Europe…