Bill 139 explained in plain English
Homes You Can Afford in the Communities You Love Act, 2026
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 139 would amend the Planning Act to increase housing supply by requiring data collection on housing, permitting more residential units, allowing midrise buildings in specified areas, and limiting municipal by-laws related to housing development.
Bill 139, the Homes You Can Afford in the Communities You Love Act, 2026, proposes to amend the Planning Act. The bill aims to increase housing supply by establishing new policies for official plans and by-laws. It would require the Minister to collect and publish data on housing construction and pricing annually. The bill also sets out rules to permit more residential units in existing homes, allow for the construction of midrise buildings in certain areas, and limit municipal restrictions on housing development, such as those related to floor-to-area ratios, building height, setbacks, and parking.
- Requires the Minister to collect and publish annual data on housing unit construction, unit mix, and sales prices.
- Mandates official plans to include policies that authorize up to four residential units in detached houses, semi-detached houses, or rowhouses.
- Requires official plans to authorize multi-unit residential buildings up to four storeys in settlement areas.
- Requires official plans to authorize midrise housing developments (six to 11 storeys) on major streets in single-tier or lower-tier municipalities with a population of at least 100,000, provided there is sufficient sewage and water capacity.
- Prohibits official plans and by-laws from restricting the use of four or fewer residential units on urban residential land.
- Prohibits official plans and by-laws from imposing a floor-to-area ratio on residential buildings with three to six units.
- Prohibits official plans and by-laws from restricting residential buildings from being four or fewer storeys in height.
- Prohibits official plans and by-laws from imposing minimum setback distances for residential buildings with four to six units.
- Prohibits official plans and by-laws from requiring parking for residential buildings with at least four units.
- States that there are generally no appeals allowed for the new housing policies, except for appeals by the Minister.
- Requires local municipalities to ensure their by-laws align with the new housing policies.
- The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing (or equivalent)
- Municipal councils and local municipalities
- Property owners and developers
- Residents in Ontario
- Municipalities are obligated to ensure their by-laws align with the new housing policies in official plans.
- Official plans must contain policies authorizing specific housing types and densities.
- The Minister has the right to appeal decisions related to new housing policies.
- Developers and property owners may have increased ability to build certain types of housing due to relaxed restrictions.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- The bill requires the Minister to collect and publish data on housing unit selling prices in $50,000 increments, which may indirectly inform financial decisions.
- No specific taxes or fees are mentioned as being created or altered by this bill.
- The bill states that there are no appeals in respect of the new housing policies, with the exception of appeals by the Minister, which could limit legal challenges to these policies.
- Municipalities are required to ensure their by-laws give effect to the new policies, suggesting that non-compliance could be addressed through existing planning act enforcement mechanisms, although specific penalties are not detailed in the provided text.
- The bill does not specify what happens if a municipality fails to collect the data or publish it within the 90-day timeframe.
- The definition of 'major street' is provided, but its application in diverse urban and suburban contexts might lead to interpretation issues.
- The requirement for 'sufficient sewage and water capacity' for midrise developments is subject to interpretation and municipal assessment.
- While appeals are generally disallowed, the exact scope and process for the Minister's exceptions are not fully detailed.
- The bill refers to 'areas of settlement' without defining this term, which may vary by municipality.
Introduces new requirements for housing policies in official plans and by-laws, and adds a new section for data collection on housing.
Source: Section 1, Section 2
Adds new subsections that mandate official plans to permit more residential units, allow for midrise housing, and restrict certain by-laws regarding floor-to-area ratio, height, setbacks, and parking.
Source: Section 2
Revises the restrictions on official plans concerning the prohibition of four or fewer residential units on urban residential land.
Source: Section 2 (2)
Modifies the authority of municipal councils to pass by-laws, imposing new restrictions on by-laws related to the number of residential units, floor-to-area ratio, height, setbacks, and parking.
Source: Section 5
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced