BUILDING DURHAM

OHBA is seeking comments from members in relation to Bill 17 - Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025.

All comments are to be sent to kjensen@ohba.ca no later than May 31, 2025.

[2]   DEVELOPMENT CHARGES ACT

Proposal number: 25-MMAH003, Link to commenting post:  Ontario Regulatory Registry, comments open until June 11^th.  

The following amendments to the Development Charges Act, 1997 have been proposed:

1. Create a Regulation-Making Authority to Merge Service Categories for Development Charge Credits: When builders construct infrastructure for a municipality, they can recoup those infrastructure costs in the form of a credit used towards their DCs payable.  However, unless the municipality provides an exception through an agreement, these credits can only be used towards DCs for the same service (for example, DC credits for road-related infrastructure can only be applied to road DCs.) This proposal would create a new regulation-making authority to merge service categories for the purpose of DC credits.

2. Create Regulation-Making Authority to Specify What Constitutes a "Local Service":
"Local services" are infrastructure that a municipality can require a builder to build as part of their development. Examples could include sidewalks or street lighting.  Currently, the Development Charges Act, 1997 prohibits municipalities from levying DCs in respect of these local services. However, there is no formal definition of "local services" in the Act.  This proposal would create regulation-making authority to prescribe what constitutes a local service for which DCs may not be charged, but which may be secured through agreements as a condition of land division.

3. Expand the Development Charge Deferral to Non-Rental Residential Developments:
Currently, most DCs are payable to municipalities at the time a building permit is issued. DCs on rental housing and institutional development are able to be paid in instalments later in the development process, beginning at occupancy. This proposal would provide for payment of DCs for non-rental residential developments to be made in full at the earlier of the date an occupancy permit is issued and the date a development is first occupied.

Related amendments would also:
-provide municipalities with the authority, in circumstances set out in regulation, to require a financial security to secure payment of deferred DCs for residential developments other than rental housing developments, subject to any limitations on that security set out in regulation; and
-remove interest from being charged by municipalities on any legislated DC deferral amounts, except to the extent such interest has accrued prior to these changes coming into force.

4. Changes to Reduce DCs:
If a municipality wishes to amend their DC by-law to provide developments relief, such as from increases due to indexing of rates, the municipality would need to undertake certain procedural steps such as preparing a background study.  To save municipalities time and improve cost predictability for new developments, this proposal would enable municipalities to make any changes to their DC by-laws for the sole purpose of reducing DCs or removing indexing, without having to undertake certain procedural requirements, such as preparing a DC background study or holding a public meeting.

5. Create a Regulation-Making Authority to Limit Eligible Capital Costs:
The Development Charges Act, 1997 lists capital costs that are eligible to be recovered from development charges.  This proposal would create regulation-making authority to prescribe exceptions, including conditional exceptions, to capital costs that are eligible to be recovered from DCs, including the costs of acquiring or improving land.

6. Changes to the Application of the DC Freeze:
DCs are set ("frozen") when a builder submits a site plan application or zoning application to the municipality. The DCs remain frozen for eighteen months after the relevant application is approved. The development pays the frozen DC rate if they are issued a building permit within the freeze period; otherwise, the development must pay the current development charge rate.  To help prevent homebuilding from being delayed and to reduce the administrative burden on builders and municipalities from re-submitted applications, this proposal would provide that frozen DC rates are not applicable if the current DC rates in effect would result in a lower payment.

7. Exempt Long-Term Care Homes from Development Charges:
Currently, long-term care homes are considered an institutional development and payment of the applicable DCs is deferred to the day an occupancy permit is issued or the day on which the development is first occupied.  However, despite the payment deferral, payment of DCs for these institutions can serve as a financial barrier for the building of this provincial priority.  This proposal would exempt long-term care homes within the meaning of subsection 2 (1) of the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 from municipal development charges.  For long-term term care homes that are combined with other types of development, such as commercial developments, only the long-term care home portion of the development would be exempt from DCs.

OHBA is seeking comments from members in relation to Bill 17 - Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025.

All comments are to be sent to kjensen@ohba.ca no later than May 31, 2025.

[1]   BUILDING CODE ACT - ELIMINATING SECONDARY APPROVALS FOR INNOVATIVE CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

Proposal number: 25-MMAH004, Link to commenting post:  Ontario Regulatory Registry, comments open until June 11^th. 

• Schedule 1 of Bill 17 proposes changes to the Building Code Act which includes adding a provision to clarify that municipalities do not have the authority to create or enforce their own construction standards, which includes Building Green Standards.
• This is scheduled to come into effect on July 1, 2025.

The province has commenced their consultations on Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 with a series of ten postings on the Ontario Regulatory Registry and the Environmental Registry of Ontario, where comments are being requested by either June 11^th, 12^th or June 26^th.  The ORR and ERO postings relate to proposed changes to the existing Planning Act, and Development Charges Act under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, but there are also proposals related to the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Infrastructure to support Bill 17.

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association is collecting feedback to prepare the association submissions on behalf of all 28 HBAs, and they are asking for your review and comment on the material that has been posted.  All postings have been consolidated below for ease of reference.

Although the province is seeking comments for various due dates, there is significant overlap between the supportive postings.  Therefore, we request that you send your comments NO LATER than May 31^st to kjensen@ohba.ca. 

Also, OHBA is in the process of scheduling a member information session for all the local associations in early June.  We kindly ask that upon your review of the legislation, background material from the e-mail below, and the ORR/ERO postings that you send any questions, or points of clarification at your earliest convenience to kjensen@ohba.ca so that they can be addressed in the information session.

For your reference, a copy of the legislation can be accessed here:

Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025 - Legislative Assembly of Ontario

A presentation given to local chairs and EOs can be found here.

The Town of Whitby is hosting a public meeting about Development Related Fees on Monday, June 2, 2025 at 7 p.m. at Whitby Town Hall in Council Chambers.

The Town commissioned a report from Watson and Associates.  A Planning Fees table has also been created that shows the current fee, the Watson-recommended fee, and staff's recommended fee. The staff report can also be found here.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact Stacey.

The City of Oshawa has issued a request for proposal for a proposed development scheme for City-owned lands at 47 Bond Street West that will result in the redevelopment/adaptive re-use of the site, in whole or in part, that will make a positive contribution to downtown Oshawa.

View the full bid notice here or visit here for more information.

On December 18, 2024, the Ontario Government published the final version of the regulation that will allow for the use of pay on demand Surety Bonds by landowners or applicants to secure municipal obligations as a part of the planning process. This regulation was posted and brought into force on November 19th and has been slightly amended through the recently concluded consultation period. This is an issue that OHBA has long been advocating for and strongly supports. OHBA worked closely with the Surety Association of Canada on developing recommendations on how surety bonds would work in Ontario.

The regulation states that landowners or applicants “may” stipulate that a surety bond is used to secure an obligation imposed by the municipality as a condition of approval for a land use planning matter. Implicit in this is municipalities must accept them, since it is a choice the landowner or applicant makes, not the municipality.

However, anecdotally we understand that some municipalities may not be in the position to begin accepting them immediately. The regulation did not stipulate a phase in period, and we are not aware of any guidance that went from the Ministry of Municipal AOairs and Housing to municipalities regarding accepting surety bonds in place of letters of credit. As a result, this may lead to some confusion in the municipal sector with some municipalities choosing not to accept them at this point. We expect that the situation will resolve quickly and builders can begin using surety bonds rather than Letters of Credit if they choose.

OHBA has been advocating for the ability for builders to swap out existing Letters of Credit for surety bonds.  This move would free up capital held by letters of credit for builders, reduce the cost of building houses and have no risk for municipalities. Currently, it is up to the municipality to decide whether they will exchange existing letters of credit for surety bonds. There is nothing in the regulation that speaks to this, and OHBA will continue to push the Government to put in place rules that would mandate this across the province.

As part of the regulation making process the Government of Ontario asked for comments on the regulation they posted in November. As a result of the consultation there was one amendment made to the regulation regarding the acceptable credit rating required for bonds rated by the A.M Best Company Inc.

The original regulation stipulated the bonds rated by the A.M Best Company, Inc. had to have a credit rating of “A”. The Surety Association of Canada, supported by the OHBA, recommended that to foster more competition in the bond market the credit rating from bonds rated by the A.M Best Company, Inc should be lowered to “A-.” The province accepted this recommendation.

The regulation can be found here https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r24461

The final decision can be found here https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-9198

The Durham Region Home Builders' Associated was saddened to hear of the passing of Tyler Main, owner of HKLA (Landscape Architects).  HKLA has been a long-time member of DRHBA and Tyler took over the business in 2020.  Tyler was known to members as hardworking, driven and passionate, and he will be greatly missed.

View the obituary here.

In October, the Durham Region Home Builders' Association will be hosting their Annual General Meeting and electing their board of directors for the 2024-2026 term. 

The following positions are available for election:

·         Two (2) Builder/Renovator directors

·         One (1) Trade Contractor directors

·         Two (2) Supplier directors

Elected directors will serve a two-year term.

DRHBA's top priority is advocacy work for the building industry as a whole.  We also provide networking opportunities and great events for our members.  We are looking for individuals who are willing to share their time, knowledge and experience to further the interests of the building community.  We believe that each director brings a unique skill set and perspective to the table.

Directors will be required to attend four board meetings per year (November, February, May and September), and will be asked to join one of our committees.  We ask that you share your time and expertise, whether that means managing a GR file, speaking at a public meeting or helping to plan one of our gala events. 

As a director, you will be representing the Durham Region Home Builders' Association.  You will be expected to attend most of our events, including member events, seminars, the Awards of Excellence, President's Ball and golf tournament.

Being on the Durham Region Home Builders' Association's board of directors is a great way to help shape the industry, steer the direction of the Association, network, get more involved and stay informed on what's going on in the building world.

If you are interested in becoming a director, please download and fill out a nomination form and send it to Stacey at s.hawkins@drhba.com.  Nomination forms must be submitted by Thursday, August 22, 2024.  All forms will be forwarded to the nominations committee for review.  If there are more qualified applicants than positions available, an election will be held at the Annual General Meeting in October.  Qualified candidates are encouraged to provide a bio and photograph to be published in an upcoming news bulletin.

If you have any questions, please contact Stacey at 905-579-8080 ext. 2 or s.hawkins@drhba.com.

In late April, the City of Oshawa released their Development Charge Background study.  The new development charge bylaw proposes an increase of $2,191, from $35,591 to $37,782.

DRHBA, in partnership with BILD,  hired Keleher Planning and Economic Consulting (KPEC) to review the background study, and this correspondence was submitted on May 22, 2024.  In addition, DRHBA & BILD sent follow-up correspondence in regards to our concerns about the Northwood’s Project DC Recoverable Costs.  DRHBA has not yet received a response from the municipality to this correspondence.

DRHBA delegated at the public meeting on May 24, 2024, and provided Council with a handout that outlined the total costs of development charges to new homeowners in Oshawa, as well as the breakdown of costs of the Northwoods project.

The new development charge bylaw will be brought to Council on June 1, 2024, and if passed, will come into effect on July 1, 2024.

On May 27, 2024, Hon. Todd McCarthy, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery (“PBSD”), introduced legislation Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 (the “Act”).

May 28 – OHBA Member Update: Province Introduces Bill 200

There were several components of the Bill (Schedules) that would impact the development and residential construction industry at large, including the following:

1. Strengthening homeowner protection from exploitive business practices, including the misuse of Notice of Security Interest (NOSIs) registrations for consumer goods.
2. Believing that homeowners purchasing a home is one of their most important decisions, the government believes that new homebuyers should have adequate time to review their purchase and sale agreement so they can make a confident and informed decision when buying a new home.
3. Allow municipalities additional time to complete investigations for non-designated properties included in municipal registers of properties with cultural heritage value or interest.

Bill 200 has been granted Royal Assent. The motivation to do so was most likely driven by the government wanting to protect seniors and other vulnerable constituents to various bad actors; the desire of the opposition parties to be seen in a similar capacity, and the strong likelihood that the Legislature will prorogue over the summer and in such a circumstance, the Bill would die on the order paper.

To be clear, OHBA was given no prior knowledge of the government actions to pass this legislation without it going through the conventional standing committee procedure. With that background, we want to bring members up-to-date on what is now in effect with respect to this legislation and what matters will come into force upon proclamation.

WHAT IS NOT IN EFFECT (ROYAL ASSENT – JUNE 6, 2024):

1.      Schedule 1 – New Home Construction Licensing Act

This Schedule of the Bill would allow for a ten (10) day cooling-off period to apply to new home construction freehold real estate transaction.

However, this Schedule of the Bill is not in force until the day to be named by Proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. In discussions with officials in the minister’s office, OHBA are advised that the ministry will commence a consultation with stakeholders shortly and will also incorporate a transition period before this provision comes into effect. It was intimated that the timeline could be upwards of one year.

WHAT IS NOW IN EFFECT (ROYAL ASSENT – JUNE 6, 2024):

1.      Schedule 2 – Ontario Heritage Act

Among other matters, Section 27 (16) of the Act is amended to grant an additional two (2) year extension to municipalities’ complete assessments of properties in the register as of January 1, 2023. The Bill 23 provisions allowed for a period ending December 31, 2025. Therefore, the end date is now December 31, 2027. Please refer to Schedule 2 of the Bill.

1.      Schedule 4 –Personal Property Security Act amendments

This schedule amends the Act to have certain consumer goods not apply under the Act. The Bill also deems the expiry of NOSIs registered in respect of consumer goods that is in effect immediately before the day the Act receives Royal ascent and is deemed to have expired on that day. For greater certainty, the notice may not be extended, and the land described in the notice is not affected by any claim under the notice.

Furthermore, to protect individuals impacted by such NOSIs, the bill allows for the notice or the extension notice registered to be deleted from the title effective the day before the Act received Royal Assent.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Stacey or OHBA's CEO Scott Andison.