The City of Toronto has proposed amending the Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) to offer financial support for housing down payments to people or families earning up to $160,000 per year.
The proposal to ease qualification for the HOAP program comes as a persistent housing crisis and the rising cost of living has made it difficult for many Torontonians to afford purchasing a home.
As stands, HOAP eligibility is capped for households earning up to $102,000 per year — the 60th percentile of earners. The change would allow households from up to the 80th percentile of earners to receive help for a down payment towards a home purchase.
The proposal was considered by the city’s planning and housing committee on Thursday where it was unanimously approved. The proposal will go before council later this month.
“As Toronto residents continue to struggle with rising inflation and cost of living, it is becoming increasingly difficult even for middle income earners to access the ownership market, including women-led households and those from equity-deserving communities,” the proposal reads.
The city currently considers home ownership affordable when housing ownership costs are no more than 30 per cent of a household’s earnings.
The city proposal pitches an “attainable” tier program of HOAP for higher income earners with eligible household incomes and prospective home prices above the “affordable” thresholds already prescribed by the city.
The proposal also includes changes to HOAP assistance for non-profit housing ownership.
Non-profit groups like Habitat for Humanity are already exempt from various building charges like planning application and building fees. Now, city officials have proposed extending HOAP incentive packages to non-profit partnerships with private developers, which are currently not eligible.
The city hopes that together non-profit organizations and private developers could build more affordable housing in Toronto.
HOAP was first introduced in 2010. Since its launch, the city said eligible households have received 1,370 down payment loans worth a combined $54.5 million.
The city’s proposal pointed a finger at several contributing factors for low and middle home ownership challenges in Toronto, namely developers who are disinterested in building affordable housing and rising construction costs.
In response to the housing crisis, the City of Toronto has a goal of approving 4,000 affordable ownership homes by 2030.
