London exceeds federal housing target, with a month to spare

London has achieved its latest residential construction milestone to ensure it receives a share of the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).

On Monday, the City of London surpassed its three-year Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) target of 11,803 new housing units, reaching 11,966 new units a month ahead of the Sept. 7 federal deadline.

“We will unlock additional funding for the municipality. I think it’s upwards of $20 million,” explained Mayor Josh Morgan.

The federal HAF provides funding to municipalities to accelerate housing construction and support long-term changes that increase housing supply.

London was the first city in Canada to receive funding from HAF, and has met each of its targets since.

Morgan suggests the additional funding could benefit some popular municipal housing initiatives, “Very successful programs like the office-to-residential conversions, or the transit-oriented development programs that we know are oversubscribed and run out of money.”

London has also completed all 11 initiatives included in its HAF Action Plan:

• enabling higher-density housing near rapid transit routes
• supporting office-to-residential conversions
• providing incentives for Transit-Oriented Development and Additional Residential Units
• expanding financial incentives for homeowners and builders to create new housing
• improving development approval processes and reducing barriers to housing construction
• investing in infrastructure needed to support housing growth in key areas of the city
• supporting new affordable and highly supportive housing through partnerships with housing providers

The mayor added, “I want to thank our staff who are working very hard on this, but also those who submit the applications, pull the permits, and build the housing in our community.”