September 16, 2020 (ONTARIO) –
Today, FRPO is releasing a timely report with the help of leading rental market analytics firm, Urbanation. The report finds that strong demand factors of (pre-pandemic) job growth, immigration, and high home ownership prices have combined with lagging rental construction activity that will help create a shortage of 200,000 units in Ontario’s rental market over the next decade. While COVID-19 has taken a toll on the economy, pre-pandemic demand pressure will return once the economy rebounds and borders re-open, which renders this supply gap unavoidable.
“This report should be a wake-up call to those who influence the development approvals process,” said FRPO President & CEO Tony Irwin. “We need to do everything we can—now more than ever before—to close the supply gap and give Ontarians more homes and more choice in rental housing.”
One solution FRPO proposes to the Government of Ontario and municipalities across the province is a dedicated process to approve the construction of rental buildings on available land where these structures already exist, known to those in the sector as infill development. These projects are the most viable in that they can be built without purchasing land, one of the largest costs in rental construction, and can also be accommodated in more affordable market areas, a key issue in addressing new housing supply.
The report also outlines the results of an exercise undertaken by Urbanation, where approximately 950 rental sites in the GTHA were identified as opportunities for infill development to double and in some cases triple the number of rental units on a site. The data estimates that just over 176,000 units could be built on an existing rental-zoned property. Additionally, 35% of these sites are within 800 metres of a current or future rapid transit station, consistent with the Ford government’s push to establish major transit station areas and create transit-oriented communities.
VIEW REPORT: Urbanation – FRPO Ontario Rental Market Report – Summer 2020
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ABOUT FRPO
The Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) is the province’s leading advocate for quality rental housing. FRPO represents over 2,200 rental housing providers who supply and manage homes for over 350,000 tenant households across Ontario.
Contact
Chloe Hill, Communications Manager
Phone: 416-385-1100 x30
Email: chill@frpo.org
