Bill 204 explained in plain English
Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st 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
The Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016, amends various Ontario acts to promote affordable housing through measures like inclusionary zoning and changes to development charges and housing services.
This bill, the Promoting Affordable Housing Act, 2016, amends several Ontario laws related to housing and urban planning. It aims to increase the availability of affordable housing by introducing measures like inclusionary zoning, which requires new developments to include a certain number of affordable housing units. It also makes changes to how development charges are applied, how housing services are managed, and how rental properties are regulated. Additionally, it repeals an older act related to housing aid for seniors.
- Amends the Development Charges Act, 1997 to allow municipalities to exempt second dwelling units in certain proposed new residential buildings from development charges.
- Repeals the Elderly Persons’ Housing Aid Act.
- Amends the Housing Services Act, 2011 to require service managers to conduct enumerations of homeless persons, and modifies rules around corporate changes for local housing corporations, rent-geared-to-income assistance, and the selection of households for assistance.
- Amends the Planning Act to introduce inclusionary zoning policies, which require or permit municipalities to include affordable housing units in new developments. It also changes rules around appeals, site plan control, subdivision plans, and fees related to affordable housing.
- Amends the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to clarify that tenants cannot be terminated for losing eligibility for rent-geared-to-income assistance and shifts the responsibility for enforcing maintenance standards from the province to municipalities, with new enforcement powers for municipalities.
- Amends the Smart Growth for Our Communities Act, 2015 by removing an outdated amendment provision.
- Municipalities (regarding development charges, planning, and maintenance standards enforcement).
- Developers and builders.
- Individuals seeking housing or currently in housing (renters, members of housing co-operatives).
- Service managers (responsible for housing services).
- Landlords and tenants.
- Non-profit housing co-operatives.
- Individuals experiencing homelessness.
- The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and provincial ministries.
- The Lieutenant Governor in Council (for making regulations).
- Municipalities may be required or permitted to include affordable housing units in new developments through inclusionary zoning policies.
- Service managers are required to conduct enumerations of homeless persons and provide information to the Minister.
- Landlords cannot terminate tenancies solely because a tenant is no longer eligible for rent-geared-to-income assistance.
- Municipalities are responsible for receiving and investigating complaints about maintenance standards in residential complexes.
- Developers may need to enter into agreements with municipalities regarding affordable housing units.
- Landlords must comply with prescribed maintenance standards, and municipalities can issue work orders for non-compliance.
- The Act, and most of its schedules, came into force on the day it received Royal Assent (which occurred in 2016).
- Certain sections of Schedule 5 (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 amendments) came into force one year after Royal Assent or on July 1, 2018, whichever was later.
- Municipalities will be prohibited from imposing development charges when a second dwelling unit is created in certain prescribed classes of proposed new residential buildings.
- Fees for processing applications related to development or redevelopment that includes affordable housing units cannot exceed maximum fees prescribed by regulation.
- Municipalities can appoint inspectors to investigate complaints and issue work orders for non-compliance with maintenance standards.
- Failure to comply with work orders or obstruction of inspectors can result in proceedings for alleged offences under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.
- Proceedings for certain offences related to providing false or misleading information to municipal inspectors must be commenced within two years of the facts coming to the municipality's attention.
- The effectiveness of inclusionary zoning depends on how municipalities choose to implement it, as some aspects are optional.
- Details regarding prescribed restrictions, classes of buildings, and specific requirements for inclusionary zoning policies and maintenance standards are to be determined by regulation.
- The bill gives the Lieutenant Governor in Council and the Minister broad powers to make regulations, which will further define the specifics of many provisions.
- The bill does not specify the exact date of Royal Assent, but it received it in 2016.
Prohibits municipalities from imposing development charges when a second dwelling unit is created in prescribed classes of proposed new residential buildings.
Source: Schedule 1, Section 1
The Act is repealed, meaning it will no longer be in effect.
Source: Schedule 2, Section 1
Requires service managers to conduct enumerations of homeless persons, modifies rules around corporate changes for local housing corporations, rent-geared-to-income assistance, and the selection of households for assistance.
Source: Schedule 3
Introduces inclusionary zoning policies, requiring or permitting municipalities to include affordable housing units in new developments, and modifies rules around appeals, site plan control, subdivision plans, and fees related to affordable housing.
Source: Schedule 4
Clarifies that tenants cannot be terminated for losing eligibility for rent-geared-to-income assistance and shifts the responsibility for enforcing maintenance standards from the province to municipalities, granting new enforcement powers to municipalities.
Source: Schedule 5
Repeals an amending provision that is no longer needed.
Source: Schedule 6, Section 1
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