The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) is a $4-billion federal government initiative designed to help Canadian municipalities speed up housing delivery and create favourable conditions for additional housing development. The program aims to boost housing supply and improve certainty in the approval and building processes, in response to the national housing crisis.
The City of Saint John Long-Term Financial Plan, adopted by Common Council in December 2019, is a first of its kind for an Atlantic Canadian municipality, and is part of a broader financial strategy for the City to help address its financial challenges.
The plan was produced as a result of two years’ worth of collaboration and visioning from the Finance Committee, community and Common Council. The plan includes a comprehensive financial assessment of the City’s challenges and opportunities, a suite of best practice financial policies, the establishment of long-term financial targets, and a financial health scorecard that measures results and ensures strong fiscal management. The plan also outlines eight steps to keep the City focused and diligent about its finances: eliminate debt, reduce debt levels each year, fund reserves, follow financial policies, facilitate provincial reforms, focus on growth, diminish infrastructure debt, and monitor progress.
The City’s long-term financial plan and supporting policies will support the achievement of such a process in both the short and long term.
About Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)
Overview of HAF Program
In spring 2023, the Government of Canada launched the Housing Accelerator Fund to support local governments in creating transformational changes to boost housing supply.
In January 2024, the City of Saint John received $9.1 million to implement its Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Action Plan. With this investment, the City aims to achieve a Housing Supply Growth Target of 1,124 net new residential units over the next three years.
Through the Housing Accelerator Fund investment, the City of Saint John has set a Housing Supply Growth Target of 1,124 net new residential units over the next three years. To ensure the success of this ambitious goal, the City has developed a comprehensive HAF Housing Action Plan, featuring eight strategic initiatives designed to drive housing development.
- Initiative 1 North End Secondary Plan - Phase One
- Initiative 2 Housing Concierge Program
- Initiative 3 Unlock Gentle Density
- Initiative 4 Capitalize Affordable Housing
- Initiative 5 Leverage Public and Underutilized Land
- Initiative 6 Zoning By-law Reform
- Initiative 7 E-Permitting One Stop Development Shop
- Initiative 8 Governance Reform
For more information on these initiatives please see the Initiatives Tab.
FAQ’s
What is the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF)?
What is the intent of the Housing Accelerator Fund?
By providing incentive funding, CMHC aims to leverage the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to drive transformational changes in local government land use planning and development approvals. The primary goal is to accelerate housing supply and increase certainty in the approval process. Additionally, the HAF prioritizes the development of complete, affordable, equitable, inclusive, low-carbon, and climate-resilient communities.
What is the City’s Housing Supply Growth Target?
Meeting the Housing Supply Growth Target is a key condition for HAF funding. The City of Saint John’s goal is to create 1,124 units between January 2, 2024, and December 31, 2026. This includes specific targets for 805 multi-unit housing units, 164 missing middle housing units, and 101 affordable housing units, which represent 9% of the overall growth target.
What are the conditions of HAF funding?
- The City has delivered all reporting requirements and CMHC is satisfied.
- CMHC is satisfied with The City’s progress on the commitments.
- The City has achieved the Housing Supply Growth Target.
What is the missing middle?
“Missing middle housing” refers to ground-oriented housing types that fall somewhere in between a single-detached home and mid-rise apartment buildings – such as garden suites, secondary suites, townhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes where units have direct ground floor access.
What are Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs)?
ADUs are homes located in or on the same property as the main home. This could include additional homes in a single detached house or backyard homes.
Will this funding help housing affordability challenges?
Yes, there is direct funding available for the creation of affordable housing. Additionally, this funding can be leveraged to secure further funding from sources beyond the HAF. Generally, increasing the housing supply impacts affordability across the entire housing continuum.
Is the Housing Accelerator Fund just about affordable housing?
While many jurisdictions include affordable housing in their programs, market housing is also essential. To effectively address the housing crisis, we need to develop a diverse range of housing types to cater to all economic segments of our community.
Major Milestone Timeline
October 3, 2022City Council Approves Affordable Housing Action Plan
August 3, 2023City of Saint John Submits Application for Housing Accelerator Fund
January 2, 2024City of Saint John Signs HAF Agreement with CMHC and Receives First Payment Advance
February 15, 2024Storm Water Monitoring Begins for Infrastructure Modeling in Support of the North End Plan Begins
April 17, 2024Shape Your City Launched to Begin North End Plan Community Engagement
March 21, 2024First Annual Developer Symposium with Development Community
July 8, 2024City Council Approves Amendments to Affordable Housing Grant Program
July 15, 2024Affordable Housing Grant Intake Opens
September 25, 2024First of two open houses for Zoning By-law Reform
October 8, 2024Review of Expanded Development Incentives in Support of HAF Initiatives with Growth Committee
October 28, 2024City Council Approves HAF Grant Program
November 7, 2024Second open house for Zoning By-law Reform
Through the Housing Accelerator Fund investment, the City of Saint John has set a Housing Supply Growth Target of 1,124 net new residential units over the next three years. To ensure the success of this ambitious goal, the City has developed a comprehensive HAF Housing Action Plan, featuring eight strategic initiatives designed to drive housing development.
Initiative 1 North End Secondary Plan - Phase One
The North End is a walkable, established community that requires revitalization. This initiative will accelerate the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) with a focused infill strategy and an infrastructure roadmap. The infill strategy aims to increase density in key corridors while maintaining the character of low-rise areas. . For the latest updates, please visit the Shape Your City page for the North End Secondary plan.
Initiative 2 Housing Concierge Program
The Housing Concierge will prioritize the development of larger purpose-built rentals. A dedicated project champion will collaborate with building, heritage, infrastructure, and planning staff to proactively provide tailored support from the pre-application stage through to permit issuance for each major project.
Initiative 3 Unlock Gentle Density
The City will develop a design catalogue featuring missing middle housing types and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to streamline permit review and approval processes. Additionally, Subdivision By-law amendments will be introduced to expedite the creation of infill lots and update ADU zoning requirements.
Initiative 4 Capitalize Affordable Housing
This program will offer upfront funding to trusted partners identified for the Province’s Affordable Rental Housing Program or eligible CMHC projects. It aims to create more affordable housing units through local coordination, support, and incentives. For more details on Affordable Housing and Soft Cost Grants or the City’s Affordable Housing Action Plan, please visit our website.”
Initiative 5 Leverage Public and Underutilized Land
The City will develop a public GIS inventory of all public and underutilized lands within its boundaries to coordinate redevelopment opportunities with various government levels and partners. Additionally, amendments to the City’s Land Acquisition and Disposition policy will be made to formalize the municipal process for land disposition aimed at creating housing.
Initiative 6 Zoning By-law Reform
The City will accelerate Zoning By-law reforms to facilitate housing by easing requirements on converted dwellings, increasing as-of-right housing, upzoning low-density areas, and simplifying prescriptive design requirements in city center zones. Additionally, removing unnecessary developer agreement conditions will shorten approval timelines for projects that align with the Municipal Plan. For the latest updates and to share your feedback, please visit the Shape Your City page for the Zoning By-law Reform
Initiative 7 E-Permitting One Stop Development Shop
The City will implement a new e-permitting software to facilitate efficient permit reviews and approvals. The new system will result in a systemic improvement to building, planning, and enforcement permitting that will greatly improve efficiency and customer service.
Initiative 8 Governance Reform
The City will investigate governance enhancements that would increase the long-term supply of affordable housing in Saint John. This includes considering various reform options, such as establishing a municipal housing entity to implement the City's Affordable Housing Action Plan.
Progress toward the Housing Supply Growth Target
The disbursement of HAF funding depends on The City meeting the overall Housing Supply Growth Target (HSGT) of 1,124 net new units between January 2, 2024 and December 31, 2026. This chart shows that we are on track with 36% of the overall 3-year target achieved as of October 2024.
Council and Committee Reports
Council:
December 18, 2024 – 5.3 City of Saint John Housing Accelerator Fund 2024-2026 Action Plan - CMHC Agreement
May 27, 2024 – 13.4 Finance Committee: Housing Accelerator Funding – 2024 Budget Amendment
June 24, 2024 – 5.4 Amendment to Schedule A - City of Saint John Housing Accelerator Fund 2024-2026 Action Plan – CMHC Agreement #27,097,302 (Recommendation in Report)
October 28, 2024 – 13.1 Growth Committee: Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) Grant Program
Finance Committee:
May 22, 2024 - 6.2 Housing Accelerator Funding 2024 Budget Amendment
Growth Committee:
July 16, 2024 - 7.1 Housing Accelerator Progress Update
October 8, 2024 - 7.1 Housing Accelerator Fund Initiatives Update
October 8, 2024 - 7.2 Housing Accelerator Fund Grant Program
Status Reports Submitted to CMHC
Semi Annual Agreement Report (First Reporting Period)