News release

Mississauga taking bold action to make homes more affordable

City plans to significantly reduce development charges and other fees in response to the housing crisis.

City building | January 29, 2025

Today, City Council approved a motion from Mayor Parrish to make Mississauga housing more affordable. It includes incentives to kick-start development and get more homes built quickly.

The motion details important financial changes to boost the supply of housing – including new rental housing – for Mississauga families.

Housing incentives

Effective immediately, the following incentives are available for shovel-ready projects that pull building permits before November 13, 2026:

  • Reduce City residential development charges (DC) by 50 per cent or by 100 per cent for family units (3-bedrooms) in purpose built rental apartments
  • Defer and collect City residential development charges at occupancy

The motion requests that the Region of Peel consider matching the DC incentives adopted by the City. In addition, to spur the creation of Mississauga rental housing, the motion calls on the Region to implement a new multi-residential tax subclass. This new tax subclass would reduce property taxes by up to 35 per cent for new purpose-built rental housing.

The motion stems from recommendations from the Mayor’s Housing Task Force. In its recent report, the Task Force concluded that very few new residential units will start construction in the next two years without these types of interventions. The report called on all levels of government to reform development charges, taxes and fees to help lower house prices and rents.

Getting homebuilding back on track

Development charges and other fees – known as growth charges – provide important funding for municipalities. They pay for infrastructure for new homes like new roads, transit and libraries. Other than property taxes or user fees, they are the main source of funding Mississauga currently uses to pay for growth-related infrastructure.

In 2024, new high-rise homes sales in the region were down 95 per cent with only 236 new sales recorded by the end of November. By cutting these charges – on a short-term basis – the City is aiming to address the housing crisis head-on by getting homebuilding back on track in Mississauga.

Paying for growth

To help support the changes, the motion directs City staff to explore all appropriate government funding including the provincial Building Faster Fund, the federal Housing Accelerator Fund and Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund.

As a longer-term solution, the City is calling on the provincial and federal governments to adequately fund growth-related infrastructure for municipalities and provide much needed funding for affordable housing.

In the coming months, City staff will update and enact all necessary by-laws to support the housing incentives.

To learn more about the recommendations from the Mayor’s Housing Task Force, visit Mississauga.ca/housing-taskforce.

Watch the full video of Mayor Parrish’s housing press conference.

Background

  • The price of an average home in Mississauga is approximately $1.4 million for a detached home or $600,000 for a condo. Average monthly rent is $2,500 (1-bedroom) or $3,000 (2-bedroom).
  • While development charges in Mississauga make up about 10 per cent of the cost of a new condo – fees, taxes and charges from all levels of government total about 25 per cent of the cost of a new GTA home.
  • The City’s current development charge rate for a residential apartment (condo) is $38,316 per unit. With a 50 per cent reduction, the charge would be $19,158 per unit.
  • Development charges from the Region of Peel, GO Transit and school boards total an additional $59,884 for an apartment (condo) unit.
  • The Mayor’s Housing Task Force includes more than 30 experts from Ontario’s private and not-for-profit building and development industry. It was assembled by Mayor Parrish in June 2024.

Quotes

Today our Council took a bold step to help build more homes and make them more affordable for Mississauga residents. In a crisis of this magnitude, we must act now. Reducing development charges – and eliminating them for family units in rental developments – will help get shovels in the ground immediately. As Mayor, I can confidently say that our Council and staff are doing everything we can, within our power, to get housing built. However, to tackle this housing crisis, collective action is crucial. I’m calling other levels of government to come to the table. More development will make our City stronger. We need to ensure more access to housing for every income level – this is critical to a healthy economy, safe communities and a dynamic Mississauga for our residents. – Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish

Digital assets and downloads

Mayor Parrish

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Paula Tenuta, Senior Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, BILD (Building Industry and Land Development Association)

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Watch the full press conference.

Images

Photo of housing construction in Mississauga

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Media contact

City of Mississauga Media Relations
media@mississauga.ca
905-615-3200, ext. 5232
TTY: 905-896-5151