Cambridge is following through on its promise to stimulate new housing construction and drive rental prices down.
Staff wants to use part of the $13 million the city is eligible to receive from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund for a new incentive program that could offer up to $10,000 to residents who complete construction of additional rental units on their properties.
The proposed ARU Community Improvement Program (CIP) is one of nine initiatives the city committed to implementing as part of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Program administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Its goal is to stimulate new housing construction "through transformational changes to municipal policies, processes and programs."
If approved, Cambridge plans to offer rebates to applicants for things like upgrading of sanitary and water services, professionally prepared permit drawings, and hard construction costs, including labour and materials.
Staff estimate that as few as 150 and as many as 600 applicants could apply to access the CIP funding.
Not every applicant would be successful since the program only has a budget of $1.5 million.
An information report on the incentive program will be tabled in the consent agenda at next week's council meeting.
Staff will then consult with the public by posting the draft CIP on the city’s website with instructions on how to provide feedback. A public meeting will also be scheduled to gather feedback before preparing the final CIP.
A recommendation report will return to council later this year.
Cambridge residents have been able to build up to two ARUs within any single detached, semi-detached and townhouses on independent, urban lots since 2022.
Considered a form of "gentle housing intensification," ARUs are defined as self-contained residential dwelling units.
Each ARU has its own cooking facility, sanitary facility and sleeping area that either forms part of and is attached to the principal dwelling or is located within a detached building on the same lot as the principal dwelling.
ARUs must be constructed with a building permit in accordance with the Ontario Building Code.
In addition to increasing the city's rental housing stock, ARUs are considered a more attainable route to home ownership and a way for homeowners to generate revenue.
Among other benefits, the rental income generated by the ARU offsets the associated costs of maintenance, taxes and financing.
Based on a review of the 252 ARU permits issued in Cambridge in 2023, staff found that they accounted for 21 per cent of all permits issued for dwelling units
The cost of constructing an ARU ranged from $3,600 to $486,000, with an average cost of $47,232.
Costs varied considerably depending on location, the existing condition of the space, the quality of the finishes, and the size of the unit.
Almost all of the permits were for the creation of a single ARU.
When the city was selected to participate in the federal HAF funding last February, it estimated its various projects would create up to 603 units.
ARUs represent 25 per cent of the total building permits the city has committed to issuing over the next three years using HAF funds.
The city has received $3.3 million in HAF funding so far and is eligible for up to $10 million in additional HAF funding from CMHC, subject to performance reporting.
