OREA joined a coalition of groups representing Ontario's housing industry to release a wide ranging set of recommendations to the Ontario government to address the province's poverty and affordable housing challenges.

The recommendations present fiscally responsible and cost-effective ways to improve housing affordability in Ontario. The housing industry urges the government to:

Remove government imposed cost and regulatory barriers to the supply of land and new housing which constrain housing opportunities for lower income households;

Create a long-term portable housing allowance program to provide immediate assistance to low income households who have housing affordability problems;

Stop the regressive taxation of tenants by equalizing residential and multi-residential property tax rates across Ontario;

Address homelessness by focusing on special needs housing and services for the hard-to-house and integrating enhanced support services within housing projects;

Make strategic investments to fix Ontario's existing social housing stock.

In the past, the coalition says, Ontario has wasted vast resources on government sponsored housing production which was very expensive, helped only a small number of households and left a costly legacy to maintain in a good state of repair. Almost 600,000 Ontario households are still in core housing need. Previous mistakes can be avoided by understanding how housing markets work, removing barriers to housing supply, providing direct assistance to those in need and ending the unfavourable property tax treatment of tenants.

Ontario's housing industry coalition includes: OREA, Building Industry and Land Development Association, Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, Ontario Home Builders' Association, Real Property Association of Canada, Residential Construction Council of Ontario, and Toronto Real Estate Board.

Sourced From: IN YOUR CORNER, Ontario Real Estate Association - REALTOR EDGE, JUNE 2008