Ottawa wants to tie access to $6B in new housing funds to fourplex approval

The Liberals plan on including a $6 billion housing infrastructure fund in the upcoming budget and to access it, municipalities and provinces must allow fourplexes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new $6 billion housing infrastructure fund in Halifax for municipalities and provinces to speed up housing-related development.

And one of the conditions is that four-unit dwellings are allowed by default in municipal zoning rules, rather than being assessed on a case-by-case basis.

This is the top line in a host of conditions to access the funding, which also includes a greater push for “missing middle homes” such as duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and other types of multi-unit homes.

In addition, as-of-right, or pre-approved zoning must be given to homes in the upcoming Housing Design Catalogue to access the new federal funding.

All of this is part of the Liberal’s plan to pre-announce various budget measures ahead of tabling the government’s key fiscal document on April 16.

Late last year, Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced plans to revive an old wartime housing program with the creation of a catalogue of prefabricated, factory-built home designs.

The goal is to standardize designs that can get through municipal project approvals more quickly, and make it easier for developers to build them in larger numbers.

Since taking over the portfolio, Fraser has been making a broader push for more multi-unit homes calling provinces and municipalities to “legalize housing.”