Kingston city council looks at new plan to improve local rental market

Kingston city council is set to discuss a new plan aimed at improving the city’s rental market and opening up affordable rental units across town.

The Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan is a new approach that city officials are hoping to take in order to address the local housing crisis. Outlined in a report that will be tabled to council on Tuesday, the plan includes offering tax grants and exemptions to vacant property owners in order to incentivize them to build multi-unit residential buildings.

Paige Agnew, commissioner of growth and development services with the city, told Global News such incentives look to boost the availability of units, focusing on both the market rate when it comes to rent and affordable rates for those who need it the most.

“Essentially what this program is, is it applies to the entire urban part of the city…. It’s a series of tax grants that become available to anybody that is building a multi-residential building for (rent),” she said.

The plan involves designating a large swath of the city as a Rental Housing Community Improvement Project Area, which would allow the city to direct financial benefits and implement appropriate policy initiatives.

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The report states that initiatives can include such things as the city acquiring land or offering grants, loans or tax assistance.

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“Canada is in the midst of a national housing crisis where the supply of housing does not meet the current demand. This has contributed to an overall housing affordability crisis where the cost of buying or renting housing has increased beyond what is considered affordable for many Canadians,” the report reads.

The report says permits for just 44 residential units were issued from January to February. Over the same period last year, that number was 370. Meanwhile, the city reports more than 8,200 residential units having zoning approvals without building permits.

The report also notes the need for more than 3,000 rental units — over half of which require the price of rent to be under $750 a month.

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