An idea developed in our region is in the process of being expanded Province-wide… in two stages.
The One Stop Solution for Rural Housing Information (RHIS), was originally developed in collaboration with the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.
Yesterday (March 12th), the Guelph-based Rural Ontario Institute announced its expansion to include rural Western Ontario municipalities.
In addition, the RHIS will further expand to include the rural municipalities of Northern Ontario in 2024.
The tool is available to municipal staff at https://www.ruralontariohousing.ca/
and will be useful to prospective builders and developers involved with, or interested in affordable housing developments in the rural municipalities of Ontario.
The RHIS monitors Demographic and economic trends, population statistics, growth patterns, age distributions, and income data- tied to average home prices, market rental rates and available zoned land suitable for multi-dwelling housing development on a convenient dashboard.
Also indicated are available incentives, including municipal grants or other incentives supporting housing initiatives and inter-municipal comparisons.
The initiative is funded through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Supply Challenge, and the Ontario Ministry of Food. Agriculture and Rural Affairs – Rural Economic Development Program.
By Rick Stow