Muskoka rolls out creative rental model to tackle housing crisis

The District of Muskoka is working to make it easier and more affordable to build and access housing.

The District Municipality of Muskoka announced on Wednesday it is throwing another solution at the local housing crisis through a unique approach to mandating rentals.

Jeff Lehman, district chair, held a press conference to discuss the new ‘Head Lease’ model as part of the district’s ‘Spotlight on Housing’ series.

Under the model, the district plans to rent housing units directly from landlords and sublease them to residents who need affordable housing.

Subtenants could then pay less than what the district pays landlords, while landlords can rest easy knowing they will receive reliable monthly payments from the district.

“We become the tenant. And we’re a pretty good tenant,” explained Lehman. “This is a way that the district can potentially subsidize, but also really take some of the risk out of those projects for the home builders,” said Lehman. “Which is what they are telling us will help get more affordable rental.”

It is a model that has been explored by the City of Toronto and the Waterloo region, and the district says it is prepared to invest millions to make it work.

“We have a $35 million overall investment in housing called ‘The Big Move on Housing.’ Depending on the response we get, we can allocate more or less of this kind of initiative,” added Lehman. “It’s fair to say that this could be a very substantial program, one where you could see millions of dollars invested by the district to create more affordable rental apartments for residents.”

Benefits that were cited include greater incentives for rental builds and less waiting for those on community housing wait lists.

Capt. Brandon Keeping from the Salvation Army South Muskoka Ministries branch says many have been priced out of their own community.

“The rent has gone up, or it’s gone up so drastically, or the cost of living and everything else has gone up so drastically that already high rent is just too much,” said Keeping of the situations some of the Salvation Army’s members face.

The district defines market-level rent as $1,300 per month for a one-bedroom unit and $1,600 per month for a two-bedroom unit.

The next step is finding interested landlords and developers, who are asked to fill out a request for information (RFI) form.

“I know, personally, a number of representatives from the development community who have expressed interest,” said Nancy Alcock, Huntsville mayor. “I think the really important thing is to get the message out.”

The deadline to submit an RFI form to the district is September 15 at noon.

Those with a project that can benefit from a head lease are asked to collaborate with the district, as it is actively seeking feedback to help keep pushing the ‘Head Lease’ model forward.