Housing Accelerator Fund Pre-application Reference Material

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Purpose of this guide
2. Program budget
3. Objectives
4. Eligible applicants
5. Application streams
6. Minimum requirements
7. Action plans
   • Housing supply growth target
   • Additional targets
   • Action plan initiatives
8. Incentive funding and permitted uses
9. Evaluation criteria
10. Funding methodology
11. Minimum documentation requirements
12. Reporting requirements
13. Advancing and reporting schedules
14. Contribution agreement
15. Application process
16. Important dates Appendix A: Application details

1. PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE

This reference document will help applicants to get ready to apply to the Housing Accelerator Fund (the HAF) administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). It informs applicants about program requirements and information that they will need to submit as part of their application. Potential applicants are local authorities as described in section four (4).

Through the provision of incentive funding, the HAF is intended to drive transformational change within the sphere of control of the local government regarding land use planning and development approvals with the overall objective to “accelerate supply” of housing.

As part of the application process, applicants must outline the actions that they will take to increase housing supply and reflect these initiatives in an action plan. Given the time that it may take to prepare the application, including the mandatory action plan and to obtain the necessary local approvals, CMHC is providing this document well in advance of the application intake portal opening.

For greater certainty, the formal application form for the HAF will be made available later in 2023 in support of the launch of the initiative when CMHC is ready to accept applications. It is possible that certain information will be requested within the application form that is not referenced in or that differs from this document.

2. PROGRAM BUDGET

With the launch of the HAF, $4 billion in funds may be available to local authorities (see definition in section four (4)) to incentivize the implementation of local actions that remove barriers to housing supply, accelerate the growth of supply, and support the development of communities that are aligned with several priorities as described in section three (3).

3. OBJECTIVES

The primary objectives of the program are to create more supply of housing at an accelerated pace and enhance certainty in the approvals and building process, while also supporting the following priorities:

– Supporting the development of complete communities that are walkable, consisting of appropriate residential density and a diverse mix of land uses, providing access to a wide variety of amenities and services through public and active transportation. – Supporting the development of affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse communities that encourage clear pathways to achieving greater socio-economic inclusion largely achieved through the equitable provision of housing across the entire housing spectrum. – Supporting the development of low-carbon and climate-resilient communities.

As a result of investments towards these objectives and priorities, the HAF is expected to result in permits being issued for 100,000 more housing units than would have occurred without the HAF.

4. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Local governments within Canada, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit governments who have delegated authority over land use planning and development approvals are eligible to apply to the HAF.

In the absence of a municipal-level authority, a regional district or province or territory that has authority for land use planning and development approvals may also apply to the HAF.

5. APPLICATION STREAMS

There are two application streams, as follows:

– Large/Urban: A jurisdiction located anywhere in Canada with a population* equal to or greater than 10,000, excluding those within a territory or an Indigenous community. – Small/Rural/North/Indigenous: A jurisdiction located anywhere in Canada with a population* less than 10,000 or within one of the territories or an Indigenous community.

*Population based on 2021 census data.

6. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for incentive funding, the applicant must:

– Develop an action plan as part of their HAF application, including satisfying the prescribed minimum number of initiatives as outlined in section seven (7). The purpose of the action plan is to outline a housing supply growth target and the specific initiatives that the applicant will undertake to grow housing supply and speed up housing approvals. – Commit to a housing supply growth target within their action plan that increases their average annual rate of growth by at least 10%. The growth rate must also exceed 1.1%. – Complete or update a housing needs assessment report* and include a reoccurring scheduled review date within the report to ensure that the needs assessment is kept current. • The requirement to complete or update a housing needs assessment report may be waived if the applicant recently completed or updated their housing needs assessment. Applicants that have completed or updated their housing needs assessment within two years of the 2022 federal budget announcement (April 7, 2022) can request that this requirement be waived. If there is no reoccurring scheduled review date on this existing housing needs assessment report, there remains a requirement to add a reoccurring scheduled review date. – Submit periodic reports to CMHC in the form and timelines prescribed. See section 12 for additional details. This includes: • Progress reporting on the initiatives and commitments within the action plan. • Micro-level permit data for residential buildings for all permitted units. • Details that support that HAF funding was used for a permitted purpose.

*CMHC may consider growth targets that fall outside these program guidelines on a case-by-case basis considering actual applications received. Applicants are encouraged to put forward the strongest application possible. Refer to section nine (9) for details on the evaluation criteria.

**For those that need to complete or update their housing needs assessment, resources are available on CMHC’s website. The report is not required to be completed at the time of application submission, but it must be completed within the prescribed timeframe (i.e., the third reporting period). See section 13 for details on the reporting schedule.

7. ACTION PLANS

Applicants must provide an action plan as part of their application, which will assist CMHC in selecting applicants. If selected by CMHC, the action plan will form part of the contribution agreement. Refer to Appendix A for details on the type of information required as part of the application, including the action plan.

Each applicant must assess its own housing needs, challenges, and opportunities in considering whether to apply under the HAF. Applicants are encouraged to consider regional matters in developing their action plans. Applicants may wish to consult the information available on the Statistics Canada website as part of its assessment. Table 98-10-0002-02 provides information on population and dwelling counts for provinces, territories, and census subdivisions.

Housing supply growth target

Within the action plan submitted as part of the application for HAF, the applicant will be required to provide two projections to CMHC as outlined below. The applicant must calculate their own projections based on reasonable assumptions and data sources, including Statistics Canada and/or its own administrative data. There is no prescribed formula; however, projections should be based on a three-year period ending September 1, 2026.

– The total number of permitted housing units projected without HAF. – The total number of permitted housing units projected with HAF. This second projection is what is referred to as the “housing supply growth target.”

For the purpose of determining if the committed growth rate satisfies the minimum 10% increase and exceeds 1.1%, the following formulas will be used by CMHC:

– The annual projected growth rate without HAF: the total number of permitted housing units projected without HAF/3 years/current total number of dwellings *100%. – The annual projected growth rate with HAF: the total number of permitted housing units projected with HAF/3 years/current total number of dwellings *100%.

The current total number of dwellings should be consistent with the applicant’s 2021 census data adjusted for additional dwellings built since that reporting period.