Jeff Leiper is promising to build 1,500 new non-profit homes on city-owned land each year and create a fund to purchase at-risk rental buildings if elected mayor of Ottawa this fall. The current Kitchissippi councillor unveiled his plan for housing on Thursday, called “Housing that Works.” “We want our grown kids to be able to afford a place of their own in Ottawa. We want seniors to stay in their home, not be renovicted or priced out,” Leiper said in a statement. “Too often, people are forced to move out of the neighbourhood they love, or out of our city altogether, because they can’t find a home in their budget, and that’s got to stop.” Leiper says he will push to “build homes people can afford,” promising to deliver 1,500 new non-profit homes each year by dedicating city-owned land, fast-tracking approvals for non-profit builders and using long-term leases instead of land sales. Leiper says he will also protect existing affordable housing units by creating an acquisition fund for the City of Ottawa to purchase at-risk rental buildings and transfer them to the non-profit sector. He will also expand proactive inspections to enforce housing standards, and says he would “introduce escalating fines for repeat offenders.” Leiper says the number of people sleeping “rough or in shelters” has doubled since the 2022 election. “Mark Sutcliffe made a promise to build housing, but absolutely didn’t come close to keeping that promise. With double the number of people sleeping in Ottawa’s shelters and on its streets, we cannot afford to let Sutcliffe have another four years,” Leiper said. “It doesn’t have to be this way. The city has the tools to tackle rent prices, homelessness and housing supply, what’s missing is a mayor who will make housing a priority.” Incumbent Mayor Mark Sutcliffe unveiled his affordability plan on Wednesday night, proposing freezing municipal fees on new housing, including permitting, rezoning, variances and development charges. Sutcliffe is also promising to secure funding from upper levels of government to build a total of 10,000 more affordable homes than the city had in 2020 by 2030. Candidate Neil Saravanamuttoo says he would establish a new public option for not-for-profit, mixed-income housing. Saravanamuttoo said earlier this month that he would use Arriv Properties, a branch of Ottawa Community Housing, to develop the affordable units. Alex Lawson’s housing policy says he would cut development charges for one year, and if the housing industry isn’t “well on its way to building the family-sized rental supply Ottawa needs, the city will step in directly.”
