Ottawa Construction News staff writer
With the federal budget just weeks away, the Greater Ottawa Home Builders’ Association (GOHBA) is pressing the federal government to fulfill its election promises to address the housing affordability crisis.
The association is urging the government to include two key measures in its Nov. 4 budget: a 50 per cent cut to development charges (DCs) and a 100 per cent GST rebate for all new homes. GOHBA says these actions are critical to stimulating housing supply and lowering costs for buyers.
“In just two years, development charges in Ottawa have increased 25 per cent for new homes outside the greenbelt and 30 per cent for new homes inside the greenbelt,” Jason Burggraaf, GOHBA’s executive director, said in a statement. “Cutting these charges in half would return them to 2016 rates, immediately improving project viability and helping to deliver more homes faster.”
According to the association, high DCs are a significant driver of escalating housing prices in the city. The fees are applied before HST and provincial land transfer tax, creating a “tax-on-tax” situation that further inflates the final price for consumers. Lowering these charges, GOHBA argues, would enable builders to get shovels in the ground sooner and deliver more homes at affordable prices.
GOHBA is also calling on the government to expand the promised 100 per cent GST rebate beyond first-time buyers to include all new homes.
“There is not enough first-timers buying brand new homes to help Ottawa address the housing crisis,” Burggraaf said. He noted that potential buyers are holding back in anticipation of government relief.
“Buyers are waiting on the sidelines because they are expecting a reduction in GST, they are expecting a matching PST reduction, and they are hearing about the possibility of reduced development charges. And who can blame them?”
This market hesitation, Burggraaf said, needs to be addressed by government action to lower costs so builders can increase supply.
“There is a lot of hesitation in the market right now, and the government needs to help lower costs so homebuilders can increase supply, and help families across the city.”
