City of Hamilton invests over $3.7 million for the repair and renewal of 476 CityHousing Hamilton units

HAMILTON, ON - The City of Hamilton is providing $3.792 million to CityHousing Hamilton (CHH) for the repair and renovation of 476 vacant units across its portfolio of affordable housing buildings.

CityHousing Hamilton has identified 476 units in need of repair, with an estimated cost of $5.7 million. With the approval of a grant, CityHousing Hamilton will receive $1 million in funding, sourced from an internal loan from the Hamilton Future Fund, a fund that is used at the discretion of Hamilton City Council. In addition, a previously committed funding of $2.792 million from a dividend surplus, will contribute to the estimated $5.7 million in critical repairs and renovations needed to vacant units, increasing the number of available units for residents.

The strategic investment further reinforces Council’s recent endorsement of Hamilton’s Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap, which identifies the repair of vacant units as one of several priorities that can be actioned over the next year to address the housing crisis and help create a healthy housing system that can respond to new and growing pressures along the housing continuum.

CityHousing Hamilton manages a portfolio of over 7,100 units of affordable housing in the city, providing homes for more than 13,000 Hamiltonians. With aging buildings (the average age of their buildings is 45 years old), CHH is constantly working to make repairs and renovations to units wherever possible to maximize the availability of affordable housing in the community, and this funding will help to accelerate those efforts.

Quick Facts

• A $1 million conditional grant to CityHousing Hamilton be funded via an internal loan from the Hamilton Future Fund A Reserve (#112246) to be repaid from the annual Housing Services tax supported operating budget over a term of 10 years at an annual interest rate of 3.86 per cent, resulting in a net tax levy impact of $122,433 annually beginning in 2025. This grant is conditional upon CityHousing Hamilton meeting the requirement of completing the repairs and renovations to these units for occupancy by December 2024.
• On August 16, 2019, Council, directed staff to use any future year-end Alectra / Hamilton Utilities Corporation dividend surpluses to reduce the reliance on debt financing for Council approved Housing projects. The 2022 dividends from Hamilton Utilities Corporation and Alectra resulted in a surplus of $2.792 million to be used to partially fund the estimated cost of $5.7 million.
• Investing in the repair of CityHousing Hamilton units helps maintain the existing affordable housing stock for residents of Hamilton and provides a return on investment by enabling the collection of rent.
• The $3.792 million funding is in addition to the City of Hamilton’s $70.1 million investment in housing, as highlighted in the 2023 budget process – a 30 per cent increase over 2022.