Toronto is getting 3,200 more affordable housing subsidies

We all know how difficult it is to find housing in this city, especially affordable housing. 

Earlier this year, the Toronto Housing Market Analysis reported that over 90 per cent of rental units in Toronto were built before 1980 and the wait for social housing is five to seven years. 

Now, steps are being taken to improve the situation, ever-so-slightly. 

Mayor John Tory announced yesterday that another 3,200 affordable housing subsidies are expected to be funded in Toronto, something housing advocates and Toronto residents have been demanding for quite some time.

Imagine if Kawhi stays but as a condition, he says the city of Toronto has to double the availability of affordable housing units by 2025????

— Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) July 3, 2019

Over the next three years, the Planning and Housing Committee is expected to approve a funding plan for around $160,000 of provincial and federal funding. It will go before city council on July 16. 

The funding will be under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Strategy Initiative (COCHI) and the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI).

In a report, city staff recommended spending most of the federal money on measures to ensure long-term affordable options for Torontonians.

They recommend doing this by using rent-geared-to-income assistance in social housing projects. 

Tory said the implementation of this project will put the number of households in Toronto receiving subsidies at 8,600.

While it's obvious this new funding won't fix Toronto's urgent housing crisis, it's definitely a start.