Mississauga intends to take new measures to reduce costs on new housing and build more houses faster.

City council approved a motion from Mayor Carolyn Parrish on January 29 to temporarily eliminate residential development charges on three-bedroom purpose built rental residential apartment projects, cut them in half for all other projects, and to defer the collection of any charges until occupancy.

Projects that pull building permits before November 13, 2026 are eligible for the incentives, and the city hopes the measures will kick-start development and get more homes built quickly.

“Reducing development charges – and eliminating them for family units in rental developments – will help get shovels in the ground immediately,” Parrish said. “Our council and staff are doing everything we can, within our power, to get housing built. However, to tackle this housing crisis, collective action is crucial. We need to ensure more access to housing for every income level – this is critical to a healthy economy, safe communities and a dynamic Mississauga for our residents.

The motion also requests that the Region of Peel consider matching the development charge incentives adopted by the city. It also calls on the region to implement a new multi-residential tax subclass that would reduce property taxes by up to 35 percent for new purpose-built rental housing.

The motion stems from recommendations from the Mayor’s Housing Task Force. The group, which includes more than 30 experts from Ontario’s private and not-for-profit building and development industry, concluded that very few new residential units will start construction in the next two years without these types of interventions. It called on all levels of government to reform development charges, taxes and fees to help lower house prices and rents.

The price of an average home in Mississauga is approximately $1.4 million for a detached home or $600,000 for a condo. Average monthly rents are between $2,500 (for a one-bedroom unit) or $3,000 (for a two-bedroom unit).

While development charges in Mississauga make up about 10 percent of the cost of a new condo, fees, taxes and charges from all levels of government total about 25 percent of the cost of a new GTA home.

The city’s current development charge rate for a residential apartment (condo) is $38,316 per unit. With a 50 percent reduction, the charge would be $19,158 per unit.

In 2024, new high-rise homes sales in the region were down 95 percent with only 236 new sales recorded by the end of November. By cutting these charges – on a short-term basis – the city hopes to get home building back on track.

As a longer-term solution, Mississauga is calling on the provincial and federal governments to adequately fund growth-related infrastructure for municipalities and provide much needed funding for affordable housing.

The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), which represents home builders and developers in the GTA, applauded the move.

“The City of Mississauga has clearly demonstrated an understanding of the challenges of building new homes in the GTA, and the leadership to drive that understanding to meaningful action,” said President and CEO David Wilkes. “All across the GTA new home construction is stalling due to financial viability challenges driven by high construction costs, inflation, financing cost escalation and increasing municipal added costs over the last five years. These actions by the City of Mississauga will have a meaningful impact for the construction of new homes, purpose-built rental and commercial building.”