Housing Choices: Markham's Affordable and Rental Housing Strategy

On March 22, 2023, Markham City Council approved its Housing Pledge, Housing Pledge with a Promise, as requested by the Province of Ontario. The Province has a goal of achieving 1.5 million new housing units by 2031 and has targeted 44,000 new units for the City of Markham.

Read the Pledge.

The City of Markham has developed Housing Choices: Markham’s Affordable and Rental Housing Strategy to address housing affordability in the community. Markham has a history of supporting affordable housing and Housing Choices marks a key milestone in its journey.

One-in-three households in the City have housing affordability issues and nearly one-in-five residents are spending 50% or more of their income on housing.

The average price of a resale home in Markham has doubled over the last 10 years and average market rent is increasing faster than inflation. The City has a role to play and is taking action on this important issue.

Housing Choices includes a vision, three goals and 35 actions to address the housing gaps and needs. The Strategy’s Actions focus on practical steps that can be taken together with community partners to increase housing choices for Markham residents.

What is affordable in Markham?

Markham uses the Provincial definition of ‘affordable’ which is annual housing costs that do not require more than 30 percent of gross household income for low and moderate income households.

Ownership and rental households have different affordability thresholds which refers to the maximum purchase price of a home or the monthly rent of a unit. In Markham, a unit is affordable if it costs no more than $480,723 for ownership housing and $1,541 in monthly rent.

2020 Affordable Price Thresholds* and Maximum Household Income

* 2020 affordability thresholds for Markham. Affordability is calculated annually with data from York Region and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

How did we get here?

The City undertook a multi-phase project including research reports and community engagement to complete the Strategy.

The Phase 1: Housing Needs Assessment report examined current and emerging housing gaps in Markham.

The Phase 2: Policy Framework and Recommendations report reviewed the policy framework, summarized initial stakeholder feedback and included a draft Affordable and Rental Housing Strategy and proposed Inclusionary Zoning Framework. Members of the community, representatives from all levels of government, private and non-profit housing sectors, and experts in the housing field participated in the development of the Strategy.

Consultation included the Markham Housing Summit, a Virtual Community Information Meeting, and engagement through Your Voice Markham.

Questions?

For questions on Housing Choices: Markham's Affordable and Rental Housing Strategy, please contact those listed under "Who's Listening?".