City budget investments prioritize repair and preservation of Hamilton’s community housing units

HAMILTON, ON - In 2022 the City of Hamilton will increase the municipal contribution of $4.26 million towards repairs and maintenance of local community housing stock.

Not only does investment in the state of repair of community housing units ensure for the availability of units and more rapid turnaround of units between tenants; these investments are part of a strategy that also preserves the number of Hamilton’s affordable community housing units at end of mortgage.

As approved, Hamilton’s 2022 budget will increase funding through the following programs to repair and preserve Hamilton’s community housing units:

• The City contributes $35.7 million annually which is a $1.8 million increase over 2021 towards supporting housing providers for operating costs which include increased utility costs and general maintenance which insures the preservation of housing units for those in need.
• An increase of $1.2 million in the annual municipal contribution to support housing providers with operating costs which include state of good repair maintenance.
• $1.26 million boost in dedicated annual funding for a total of $111 million municipal contribution towards the National Housing Strategy Co-Investment Fund Repair and Renewal Stream’s $145.7 million loan repayment which will see the repair and renewal of 6,290 CityHousing Hamilton units.

Hamilton’s 2022 budget will also continue to invest its annualized contribution to the following programs:

• $2 million will be contributed from the City of Hamilton’s Poverty Reduction Fund investment of $20 million over 10 years towards community housing repair. In the last two years (2020 and 2021), this funding has supported the repairs and renovations affecting 751 units, including 228 CityHousing Hamilton units.
• $1 million will be contributed from the City of Hamilton’s Indigenous Poverty Reduction Fund investment of $10 million over 10 years towards Indigenous social housing repair. In the last two years (2020 and 2021), this funding has supported the repairs and renovations of 322 units.
• $500,000 capital funding for community housing through the Municipal Capital Grant funding program.

Investments in community housing for subsidies and capital improvements in the long-term incentivizes housing providers to keep rents affordable. Every year, Hamilton and communities across Ontario are at risk of losing community housing stock as a result of expiring longstanding federal operating agreements with housing providers as providers are at end of mortgage. Housing Services works actively to preserve this vital stock of community housing through efforts to maintain and renew operating agreements.

The City of Hamilton serves an important role in the coordination and delivery of services and benefits as Service Manager on behalf of the Government of Ontario, and the Government of Canada. Serving as the lead systems planning organization on homelessness at a local level, the City has accountability for funding allocations, performance management, strategy development and implementation, in collaboration with service providers, other governments, and those with living/lived experience of homelessness.

The City has a comprehensive Housing and Homelessness Strategy, which is guided by the Council approved 10-year Housing and Homelessness Action Plan to make sure everyone in Hamilton has a home. Funded by all levels of government, the City’s Housing Services Division administers a gross operating budget of approximately $120 million annually, including an average of $54 million (in annual municipal investments to advance the following objectives:

• Investment and leadership of coordinated access to an integrated system of supports grounded in Housing First
• Investment in the provision of and expansion
• Managing Access to Housing through preservation of units and housing subsidy to get and keep people housed
• Accelerating building of community housing units, bringing units online to maintain, and increasing the supply of units across the City.

Quick Facts

• Hamilton has 12,700 units in its community housing stock.
• In 2021 the City invested $4 million towards community housing repairs supporting quicker turnaround of vacant units, bringing chronically offline units back online, and supporting energy retrofits.
• Hamilton’s municipal investments in the local housing and homelessness serving system will increase 14 per cent ($6.2 million) in annualized funding over last year.