BILD applauds the City of Mississauga for reducing development charges and other measures to increase new housing construction

/EIN News/ -- Toronto, Jan. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greater Toronto Area, January 29, 2025 – The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) applauds Mayor Parrish, City Council, and Staff for taking bold action to foster new home construction in Mississauga. By passing today’s Mayor’s Housing Task Force Motion, the City of Mississauga has committed to significantly reducing municipally added costs on new homes, helping to address the ‘cost to build crisis’ that is paralyzing new home construction in the region, spurring the addition of new housing and commercial spaces, and helping address affordability.

“Mayor Carolyn Parrish and the City of Mississauga, through the Mayor’s Housing Taskforce, have clearly demonstrated an understanding of the challenges of building new homes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and the leadership to drive that understanding to meaningful action,” said David Wilkes, President and CEO of BILD. “All across the GTA new home construction is stalling due to financial viability challenges driven by high construction costs, inflation, financing cost escalation and increasing municipal added costs over the last five years. Sales have plummeted, housing starts are following sales, and future housing supply is in jeopardy. These historic actions by the City of Mississauga to remove the barriers and costs that are crippling an industry that is in crisis will have a meaningful impact for the construction of new homes, purpose-built rental and commercial building. This will ultimately benefit the people and businesses who are looking to call Mississauga home.

The Motion introduced by Mayor Parrish and passed by council today will, amongst other items:

• Temporarily lower municipal residential development charges by 50% in the City of Mississauga for all residential construction prior to November 13, 2026. On a new single-family home this equates to a reduction of $28,108 and represents the single largest reduction of Development Charges by any municipality in Ontario.
• Temporarily defer the payment of development charges until first occupancy resulting in saving on financing costs.
• Temporarily eliminating development charges on 3-bedroom purpose built rental residential apartment projects, thereby incenting this type of crucial development.

The motion also calls for the Region of Peel to consider matching the development charges incentive put forward by the City of Mississauga and to create a new purpose built rental housing tax sub-class to enable a 35% property tax reduction for 35 years. Actions that BILD and its membership support.

“The City of Mississauga is walking the walk when it comes to new housing,” said Wilkes. “BILD and its members echo the City’s call to the Region of Peel to consider matching the actions of the City. We would also like to acknowledge and thank the Federal Government for its direct financial support of Mississauga’s efforts. We encourage all regions, cities, and towns in the GTA to follow the vision and lead of Mississauga.”

With more than 1,000 member companies, BILD is the voice of the home building, residential and non-residential land development and professional renovation industries in the Greater Toronto Area. The building and renovation industry provides 256,000 jobs in the region and $39.3 billion in investment value. BILD is affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders’ Associations.

-30-

For additional information or to schedule an interview, contact Janis McCulloch at jmcculloch@bildgta.ca or (416-617-7994).

Janis McCulloch
                    Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)
                    416-617-7994
                    jmcculloch@bildgta.ca