Affordable Housing Matters

The Housing Ladder, and Why the London City Council Made the Right Call

Housing affordability is often framed as a single problem with a single solution. In reality, housing operates as a complex matrix that intersects with education, employment, health, immigration, and long-term economic stability. That’s why London city council’s recent decision to support a full development charge exemption for a major affordable housing project should be seen not as a giveaway, but as a strategic investment in the city’s housing ecosystem. Affordable Housing Matters!

Earlier this month, council committee members endorsed waiving more than $3 million in development charges for the Doorways to Dreams project, a 247-unit housing development planned for Dundas Street in Old East Village. The project is being led by the Cross-Cultural Learner Centre of London (CCLC), a non-profit organization that supports refugees and newcomers as they transition to permanent housing and employment.

As reported by The London Free Press, Mayor Josh Morgan noted that while the legal framework required careful interpretation, the intent behind provincial legislation is clear:

“The intent here is to support waivers for affordable housing projects.”
(Jack Moulton, The London Free Press, Jan. 12, 2026)

Why Affordable Housing Is a Foundation — Not an Endpoint

Affordable housing is often misunderstood as a permanent destination. In practice, it is more accurately described as a stabilizing first rung on the housing ladder.

Stable housing enables people to:

• Remain consistently employed
• Pursue education and training
• Maintain physical and mental health
• Build credit and financial resilience

For newcomers in particular, housing stability is the platform that allows progress into market-rate rentals and, eventually, homeownership. Without that foundation, advancement along the housing continuum becomes exponentially more difficult.

The Doorways to Dreams project reflects this reality. Of its 247 units, 102 will be offered at 70% of average market rent, while the remaining units will be market-rate — a blended model that helps financially sustain the project while increasing supply at multiple price points.

Understanding the Policy Decision

Under Bill 23, passed by the Ontario government in 2022, non-profit and affordable housing projects are eligible for development charge exemptions. The city initially argued that only part of the project qualified, based on a narrow interpretation of whether housing was the organization’s “primary objective.”

That position ultimately failed to reflect how settlement agencies operate in the real world.

As CCLC lawyer Laura McFalls explained during the tribunal process:

“Implicit in the name of resettlement means you’re settling someone in another area — housing is the most important component of settling someone.”
(Jack Moulton, The London Free Press)

Council ultimately agreed, voting unanimously at committee to support the full exemption — a move that Mayor Morgan described as both practical and aligned with legislative intent.

Housing Supply Requires a Layered Approach

There is no single lever that will solve the housing crisis. Real progress requires multiple, coordinated strategies, including:

• Purpose-built rental housing
• Affordable and non-profit developments
• Gentle density and intensification
• Market-rate supply to relieve pressure
• Pathways from renting to ownership

Affordable housing is one layer — not a replacement for market housing, but a complement that supports mobility within the system. When people are housed securely, they are better positioned to move forward, not remain stuck.

As Councillor Skylar Franke noted during deliberations:

“We do hand out millions of dollars a year for for-profit, market-rate housing, so I’m totally happy to have some development charges be waived for non-profit housing.”

Why This Matters for the Broader Market

From a real estate and housing-system perspective, increasing affordable supply:

• Reduces pressure on entry-level market rentals
• Improves tenant stability
• Supports workforce participation
• Encourages long-term housing mobility

In short, a healthier bottom rung strengthens the entire ladder.

Projects like this don’t undermine the market — they support it by creating stability where instability would otherwise ripple outward.

A Positive Step Forward

London’s housing challenges won’t be solved by one project or one policy decision. But this was a measured, thoughtful, and forward-looking move by city council — one that acknowledges the complexity of housing while taking tangible action.

Affordable housing, when done right, is not a dead end. It is a starting point.

And in a housing system as strained as ours, that’s exactly the kind of progress worth supporting.

The Full Free Press Article is Here

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