The 2018 Affordable Housing Strategy (AHS) is a ten-year plan that continues and expands from the original Affordable Housing Business Plan. To fully address our municipality’s housing needs, this strategy document has been developed with the vision of working in-step with partners, stakeholders and residents to create and maintain safe, suitable, and affordable housing throughout the city.

For the purposes of this Affordable Housing Strategy, ‘Affordable Housing’ utilizes the following definition: for housing to be considered affordable, it must cost less than 30 per cent of a household’s pre-tax income including housing and related costs—such as mortgage or rent, property taxes, home energy, water and repairs.

The Affordable Housing Strategy works to provide more housing choices that are affordable according to the 30 per cent criteria. A focus will be placed on households with an income too high to be eligible for social housing but too low to afford market rents or purchasing options, but it will not stop there. The City has a long history of pursuing housing solutions for people with incomes below $32 500 as well.

This strategy will incorporate and encourage the continued collaborative efforts across the housing continuum. This strategy also recognizes that households have different housing needs based on size, employment, ability, health, income, stage in life, and a host of other factors. Affordable housing stock is about creating a range of housing choices.