Committee approves $4,700-$6,200 hike in fees on new homes built in Ottawa
Building a new home in the City of Ottawa will cost homebuyers an extra $4,700 to $6,200 in fees, as the city increases charges to help pay for new roads, water and sewer infrastructure, transit and parks.
The planning and housing committee approved the new 2024 Development Charges Bylaw Update, which covers the one-time fees levied on new residential and non-residential properties to help pay for capital infrastructure. Council will vote later this month on the plan.
Under the new bylaw, the development charges on single and semi-detached homes inside the Greenbelt will increase from $43,494 to $48,265, while they will increase from $51,376 to $57,596 on homes built outside the Greenbelt.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
The new development charge fees will be transitioned in over 90 days.
The original plan called for a $12,000 increase in development charges, but staff say the updated increase of $4,700 and $6,200 is due to a recalculation of the number of homes expected to be built in Ottawa.
The Greater Ottawa Home Builders Association raised concerns about the increase in development charges after people had already signed contracts to build new homes. Executive director Jason Burggraaf also suggested development charges should not cover certain projects, like aquatic facilities.
"There are many projects in the background study that arguably don't belong in the background study," Burggraaf said. "They disproportionately are costing to future home buyers as opposed to the general population overall."
The co-founder of Making Housing Affordable told the committee the higher fees could create a "bigger hole" in Ottawa's budget.
"We're driving urban sprawl, we're driving people out of the city with the high cost of housing in Ottawa, especially young families. It's really crushing our economy and our city budget," Dean Tester said.
City staff shared statistics showing how Ottawa's development charges compare to other cities in Ontario. Development charges cost homebuyers $145,361 in Vaughan, $132,839 in Markham, $124,876 in Brampton, $118,308 in Mississauga and $97,041 in Toronto. The graphic shows development charges in London are $44,076.
Ottawa's current Development Charges Act expires on May 22.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are "standing and intact," including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank dealing with direct deposit outage on pay day
Scotiabank has acknowledged technical difficulties affecting direct deposits as clients report missed payments Friday morning. On Friday morning, the bank's client services phone line was playing an automated message assuring customers that work was underway to rectify the outage.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
Reported rate of child pornography increased 52% in 2023, total crime up 3%: Statistics Canada
Last year, reported child pornography cases increased by more than 50 per cent in Canada, in part due to more cases being sent to police by specialized internet child exploitation units, according to a Statistics Canada report.
Justin Timberlake's attorney disputes he was intoxicated when arrested for DWI
A hearing in the case of Justin Timberlake being accused of driving while intoxicated was held Friday, where an attorney for the singer disputed his arrest in June.
What we know about 'malicious' attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening
French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of co-ordinated 'malicious acts' upended high-speed train lines.Here's what happened and what we know so far.
When Barbie learned what a gynecologist was, so did many other people, according to new study
A new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that the ending in the 2023 blockbuster film 'Barbie' had an influence on online search interest in terms around gynecology, the branch of medicine that deals with women’s reproductive health.
Canada Soccer head investigating 'systemic ethical shortcoming' amid spying scandal
Canada Soccer chief executive officer Kevin Blue said he was investigating a potential 'systemic ethical shortcoming' within the program but has not considered pulling the women's soccer team from the Paris Olympics due to a drone spying scandal.
Federal government posts $3.9B deficit in April, May
The result for the April-to-May period compared to a $1.5 billion surplus for the same stretch last year.