The building industry welcomes City of Toronto development charge reduction program
Toronto, June 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) applaud the reduction of development charges (DCs) in Toronto announced today by the municipal, provincial and federal governments. The 40 to 60 per cent reduction will enhance housing project viability, increasing housing supply leading to jobs in the sector.
“The leadership of this historic announcement will help to address the cost to build challenge that has undermined project viability in Toronto and across the Greater Toronto Area in the last few years,” said Dave Wilkes, President and CEO of BILD. “Rapidly escalating construction costs, including municipal fees and charges, has eroded the viability of new housing projects, leading to lower starts and threatening future supply. Reducing DCs is one of the most readily apparent policy levers that governments have to restore the economics of new housing and reverse this course.”
Development charges are an upfront fee developers pay to municipalities to help fund housing-supportive infrastructure and services like roads, ambulances, parks, and water and wastewater systems. As with all government costs across our economy, these charges are included in the home price and eventually paid for by the new homebuyer. In the last 15 to 20 years, DCs have risen to such an extent in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that up to $130,000 can be added to the cost of a single-family home and up to $80,000 to a condo in DC fees. Only Ontario and British Columbia enable the province-wide use of development charges.
Today’s announcement is the first municipal reduction under the Development Charge Reduction Program (DCRP), which is enabled by the Canada-Ontario Partnership to Build, introduced on March 30, 2026. Under the DCRP, federal and provincial governments provide funding to municipalities for housing supportive infrastructure, provided the municipalities, in turn, reduce DCs by 30 to 50 per cent for a three-year period. Toronto's reduction exceeds the program requirement of a 30 to 50 per cent reduction.
“Prior to today's announcement, Toronto’s DCs were some of the highest in the GTA, the province, and the country,” said Scott Andison, Chief Executive Officer of the OHBA. “It is very fitting that the first announcement under the program is happening here, and we look forward to many more announcements in municipalities across the GTA and province. The reduction will help projects pencil, will lead to more construction activity and starts, and will increase housing supply and protect jobs in the construction sector.”
Numerous studies measuring the impact of development charges on housing supply and affordability have been published in the last decade, many of which can be accessed on BILD’s website at Industry Reports | BILD.
About the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA)
The Ontario Home Builders’ Association is the voice of the building, land development and professional renovation industry in Ontario, representing 4,000 member companies organized into 28 local associations across the province. Since 2007, OHBA members have built more than 700,000 homes in more than 500 Ontario communities. The residential construction industry employs more than 500,000 people across the province and contributes more than $66.6 billion to Ontario’s economy.
About the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)
With more than 1,000 member companies, BILD is the voice of the home building, residential and non-residential land development and professional renovation industries in the Greater Toronto Area. The building and renovation industry provides 256,000 jobs in the region and $39.3 billion in investment value. BILD is affiliated with the Ontario and Canadian Home Builders’ Associations.
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Nadine Habib Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) 416-617-7994 nhabib@bildgta.ca Liz Davidson Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) (416-677-1975) ldavidson@ohba.ca
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