Ottawa Construction News staff writer
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe last Friday (Sept. 19) unveiled a sweeping Housing Action Plan aimed at overhauling city processes, which he described as the “most ambitious municipal housing plan in Canadian history.”
The plan introduces more than 50 distinct actions designed to make Ottawa the country’s most housing-friendly city by simplifying rules, lowering costs, and speeding up development approvals.
“Housing has become too expensive for too many,” Sutcliffe stated during a press conference. “With this plan, we’re moving from being part of the problem to being part of the solution. We are saying yes to housing.”
The move comes as the city grapples with a housing crisis that has seen the average resale home price jump by over 50 per cent and average rents rise by 30 per cent in the last six years, far outpacing income growth.
While City Council has approved over 60,000 new homes since the start of its term, Sutcliffe acknowledged that high interest rates, rising construction costs, and significant procedural roadblocks at City Hall have delayed many projects.
The mayor pointed directly to internal city issues, referencing a recent Auditor General’s report that found “bottlenecks and inconsistent expectations across City departments” have increased development review timelines.
“We have to own our part of the problem,” Sutcliffe said. He described frustrations from homebuilders who face multiple rounds of comments, are asked for information too early in the process, and get stuck due to disagreements between city departments.
“When months and months are added to the process, that increases costs substantially,” he said.
The plan’s five pillars
The Housing Action Plan is built on recommendations from the Housing Innovation Task Force, which Sutcliffe established earlier this year. The task force concluded that building homes in Ottawa has become “too slow, too expensive, and too complicated.”
The new plan is structured around five key themes:
- Simplify and speed up approvals: This involves cutting red tape, ending unnecessary studies, and standardizing agreements to get shovel-ready projects moving faster
- Build a pro-housing culture: The goal is to shift city staff from a process-oriented approach to a results-oriented one, giving them the authority to say “yes” to responsible development;
- Lower costs and fees: The city will pause community benefit charges for five years, allow interest-free deferrals of development charges until later in the building process, and waive some fees for non-profit affordable housing projects;
- Strengthen affordable housing development: This includes using public lands strategically and partnering with federal and provincial governments to scale up purpose-built affordable units. Sutcliffe noted he discussed this with the Prime Minister earlier in the month.
- Unlock urban intensification: The plan will encourage more downtown residential development by improving the process for office-to-residential conversions and expanding permissions for “missing middle” housing, particularly near transit hubs.
Implementation and future steps
City Council is scheduled to vote on the plan’s recommendations on Oct. 8. If approved, 40 per cent of the actions will be implemented immediately. Another 40 per cent are slated for implementation within the current term of council, including a full review of the development approvals process and an examination of all municipal costs and fees.. The remaining recommendations will follow, which includes exploring the use of artificial intelligence to speed up the development process.
A major component of the strategy is the city’s new Zoning By-law, which will be considered by council in January. Sutcliffe touted it as the “most ambitious and pro-housing Zoning By-law in the City’s history.” It will reduce the number of development standards in residential zones from 600 down to just 30, making it significantly easier and more permissive to build.
Despite the challenges, the city is already seeing progress. From 2022 to 2024, Ottawa recorded more than 28,000 housing starts, achieving 95 per cent of its target. Housing starts have increased more than 50 per cent this year compared to the same period in 2024, the highest growth rate among major Canadian cities.
“As long as I’m Mayor, I will keep fighting for more homes, for faster approvals, for less process and red tape, for stronger communities, and for more affordable housing,” Sutcliffe said.