London lands additional $7.4M from federal housing fund other cities missed out on

The city of London announced on Friday that it has received more money from Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund after exceeding initial targets.

London has been rewarded with even more money from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) for being among the top-performing municipalities taking part in the program.

On Friday, an additional $7.4 million dollars was announced by Arielle Kayabaga, Minister of Democratic Institutions, and Peter Fragiskatos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities.

The funding is on top of about $74 million received from the federal housing program in 2023.

“Please go back to the minister and say we’re putting this money to work right away,” Mayor Josh Morgan told the local Members of Parliament. “We’re going to get it done. We’re going to continue to meet our targets.”

To be considered a top-performer and receive a 10 per cent bonus, a municipality had to achieve their housing unit forecasts and deliver on their HAF Action Plan commitments.

London’s ranked third in the country, exceeding its Year 1 housing target (3,184 units) by an additional 157 units.

The city was also a leader in removing red tape that had previously discouraged higher-density infill developments on residentially zoned properties.

Kayabaga explained that the new funding is a share of money remaining in the program after a small number of municipalities refused to modernize their infill policies.

“London has done a great job of making sure that the barriers are removed and is moving in a very fast way,” she told CTV News. “There’s some money that was still left in the Housing Accelerated Fund, and (we’re) making sure that this money goes out to the right communities.”

The additional funding will support three grant initiatives at city hall to boost affordable housing, encourage additional residential units, and expand housing along primary transit routes, including office-to-residential conversions.

“We know that communities like London need more support,” said Fragiskatos. “So you have $7.4 million now that’s going to lead to the creation of close to 200 units of housing. That’s units of housing for Londoners that are in need.”