The City of Hamilton has released its 2024 Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap update, outlining significant progress and next steps in addressing the region’s housing challenges. The Roadmap, adopted by the City Council in the spring of 2023, serves as a guiding framework for creating, preserving, and supporting affordable housing across Hamilton. This year’s update highlights achievements in key areas and provides a detailed look at how the city plans to move forward into 2025 and beyond.
The Roadmap
The Hamilton Housing Sustainability and Investment Roadmap is a comprehensive plan adopted by the City Council in 2023 to address the region’s housing challenges. It focuses on increasing affordable housing, preserving existing units, and expanding supportive housing services. The roadmap is built around four key pillars: constructing new housing, acquiring at-risk rental properties, preserving affordable housing, and strengthening housing-based supports.
Through targeted policies, funding initiatives, and collaborative partnerships, the plan aims to create safe, thriving neighborhoods and reduce housing instability across Hamilton.
Achievements in 2024
Since the adoption of the Roadmap, the City has made progress in multiple areas.
A key achievement is the launch of the Affordable Housing Development Project Stream in January 2024. Over three intake rounds, the program received 42 applications representing more than 2,500 proposed affordable housing units. Municipal contributions have been approved for 885 of these units, pending final agreements.
Hamilton has broadened its governance framework to actively include Indigenous providers and stakeholders. This development is part of the Whole of Hamilton approach, which emphasizes inclusive collaboration in addressing housing needs.
To protect renters and preserve affordable housing, the City has implemented several new bylaws in 2024. These include the Renovation Licence and Relocation By-law, the Safe Apartment Buildings By-law, and the Rental Housing Licensing Pilot. Together, these policies aim to safeguard tenants’ rights and maintain the availability of affordable rental options.
City Housing Hamilton (CHH), which focuses on providing rent-geared-to-income housing, has also reported substantial progress. Renovations are 90% complete on 476 units earmarked for repair this year, with 430 units finished to date. These repairs enhance the safety and quality of life for low-income residents and are on track to be fully completed by the end of the year.
The city’s Finance and Acquisition Action Plan has introduced a two-year pilot program with $5 million in capital funding to assist non-profits in acquiring rental properties at risk of steep rent increases. This initiative aims to preserve up to 100 affordable units, helping to ensure long-term housing stability.
Federal support through the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) included $93.5 million in funding. The program aims to facilitate the creation of 2,675 housing units over the next three years. The City launched the application process in May 2024, drawing interest from developers, non-profits, and local homeowners.
Infrastructure upgrades have further bolstered housing development. A $9.45 million grant through the Provincial Housing Enabling Water Systems Fund has supported water main replacements and other essential upgrades, preparing the way for 24,450 new housing units.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, the City of Hamilton remains committed to expanding its efforts to address housing needs. For 2025, the City has set ambitious goals, including the creation of a Housing Sustainability and Investment Reserve and enhanced governance structures to strengthen collaboration with Indigenous housing providers and stakeholders.
The City also plans to expand existing initiatives such as the Affordable Housing Development Project Stream, while seeking new funding opportunities to advance affordable and supportive housing projects.
Key Focus Areas of the Roadmap
The Roadmap organizes its strategy around four key pillars: constructing new housing, acquiring at-risk rental properties, preserving existing affordable housing, and expanding housing-based support services. These pillars are part of a broader effort to meet the City’s Council’s priority of fostering safe and thriving neighbourhoods.
Measures of success for these initiatives include streamlining approvals for new residential developments with a focus on achieving 30% rental and 10% affordable or supportive housing, alongside the preservation and expansion of existing affordable rental housing.
The Roadmap aims to follow the City’s “Whole of Hamilton” approach, which is its collaborative strategy uniting diverse stakeholders to create inclusive, comprehensive solutions for housing challenges across the city. By embracing this philosophy and strategy, the Housing Secretariat Division is ensuring that the City works collaboratively with various partners to deliver solutions that meet the needs of its diverse population.
