Welland offers incentives for homeowners to build affordable rentals

Every municipality in Niagara talks about the need for affordable housing. At Tuesday’s (July 18) council meeting, Welland put its money where its mouth was.

The city has adopted a new program where residents and non-profit housing builders can get some cash to build affordable housing units.

Called Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP), council believes it will help Welland meet its housing targets.

The Affordable Rental Housing CIP offers seven incentive programs: Tax Increment Grant, Affordable Housing Study Grant, Affordable Residential Forgivable Loan, Extended Benefits Grant, Municipal Fees Grant, Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, and Special Land Program.

For example, a property owner seeking to construct an affordable apartment in their home is eligible to receive up to a $20,000 forgivable loan – forgivable meaning simply it doesn’t have to be paid back.

“We’ve undertaken considerable consultation to develop the CIP,” said Welland’s Director of Planning and Development Grant Munday.

“We’ve taken everything we heard from the consultations and created a CIP designed to stimulate and promote the creation and longevity of affordable housing in the City of Welland.”

Homeowners or builders interested in the breakdown of the seven different incentives or even curious about the program can find details HERE using the city’s search engine.