Housing Accelerator Fund
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In March 2024, the City announced that it has been allocated over $10.4 million in federal funding through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Housing Accelerator Fund to stimulate housing growth.
The CMHC’s Housing Accelerator Fund is helping increase housing supply by removing barriers. For municipalities like ours, funding contributes to housing solutions such as capacity-building, updating development regulations to promote densification and improving internal processes and policies that accelerate the development of diverse housing types throughout St. John’s.
The City’s action plan includes various new incentives and process improvements which are outlined below.
Incentives & Grants
Funding will support the development of incentive and grant programs for various types of development, including multi-unit purpose built rentals, mixed income multi-unit developments and a grant program for subsidiary dwelling units (SDUs), backyard suites and tiny homes.
The following programs are now accepting applications. Click the plus sign for more information about the programs, as well as an open house event and additional funding sources offered by other levels of government.
Multi-Unit Purpose Built Rentals Incentives |
| This program will provide incentives such as fee exemptions to a maximum of $100,000 to developers for the development of Multi-Unit Purpose-Built Rental projects.
Fee exemptions considered for this initiative include:
Eligibility
Development Agreement and Appeal Fees are not subject to exemption. Eligible projects must be approved between August 1, 2024 and December 31, 2026, and completed by December 31, 2027.
Apply The application for incentives is included in the City's Building Permit or Planning Development Applications. Organizations shall be required to provide an incorporation number.
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Grant Program for Subsidiary Dwelling Units, Backyard Suites and Tiny Homes |
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A one-time grant of up to $20,000 will be available to homeowners looking to build a subsidiary dwelling unit (apartment) or backyard suite at their primary residence or a tiny home on its own lot.
Eligibility Eligible units include subsidiary dwelling units such as apartments, backyard suites and tiny homes. Applicants must be the registered owner of the residence at the time of application and reside at the property. For tiny home applications, an applicant must provide title documentation to the property where the unit is to be built.
To be eligible, the property must:
The grant program is not for repairs, modifications or improvements to existing rental units.
The property owner will have received a building permit from the City of St. John’s not prior to August 1, 2024 and the unit must have an issued occupancy permit by August 31, 2027.
Additional Funding Up to $20,000 in additional funding is available to applicants that include universal design features that will improve the accessibility of the unit. More information on these features can be found in the application.
Additionally, successful applicants will be eligible for a one-time City of St. John’s permit fees exemption, such as building, plumbing, and electrical permit fees.
Applicants who install an energy efficient heat pump or mini split may also qualify for an energy top-up to the maximum value of $3,000.
Apply Applicants must complete the online application form. This form can also be completed in-person at the Access Centre located at City Hall, 10 New Gower Street.
Proof of residency, such as property deed, official mail and driver’s license will be required. Applications will be assessed on a first come, first served basis between the period of August 12, 2024 and December 1, 2026, or until funds are exhausted, whichever occurs first.
Once a building permit is issued for an eligible unit, and all grant conditions are met, the homeowner will receive a one-time lump sum payment for the approved application.
Homeowners with questions can contact the Housing Accelerator Coordinator Susan Walsh at 709-570-2096 or sbwalsh@stjohns.ca.
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Additional Funding Sources |
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This program provides an opportunity to align with existing provincial and federal funding programs that support the development of housing units.
Provincial Government Funding Initiatives There are a variety of programs for homeowners, developers and non-profit organizations offered through the provincial government’s housing department, as well as other organizations. The following programs may be of value in complimenting funding received from our incentive programs:
Federal Government Funding Initiatives The following programs are offered through federal funding: |
City-Owned Land
The City will develop a land disposition program to identify City-owned land, prepare for development, and make available to non-profit housing providers through a scheduled expression of interest process.
Improved Internal Processes
The City will take a number of steps to improve its internal processes in an effort to break down barriers for developers and speed up development. These include:
- E-permitting: The City will implement an e-permitting system to improve processing times for digital permit assessments, approvals, and fee payments.
- Pre-Approved Design Concepts: The City will also accelerate recently introduced housing types, such as tiny homes and backyard suites by providing pre-approved design concepts that meet our standards. This initiative will build local capacity and predictability in the housing sector, which will be particularly beneficial to emerging non-profit and small-scale housing developers.
Update Regulations
On June 25, St. John’s City Council approved a text amendment to the Envision St. John’s Development Regulations that will enable a greater variety of housing types in residential zones.
The text amendments will increase opportunities for densification across the City. This includes adding backyard suites as a permitted use in residential zones, increasing “as-of-right” development approvals for a larger variety of housing types, and permitting apartment buildings in more zones.
The City held public engagement on text amendments in April 2024, which closed on May 28, 2024.
For more information, visit the EngageStJohns.ca project page for the Text Amendment.
Advocate for Clear Legislation
The City will work with the province in seeking clear language around community benefits and Inclusionary Zoning related to rezoning applications in the Urban and Rural Planning Act. This aims to strengthen the City’s ability to negotiate with developers around including desired housing types in rezoning/development applications.
Timelines
The City will implement its action plan over a three-year period, with work already underway or complete on many of these initiatives, such as development regulation changes and incentives.
Naturally, items that require legislative change, such as the Mixed-income multi-unit developments incentives, will take longer.
The e-permitting will take approximately 2.5 years to implement.
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