Affordable Housing Initiatives

The Town of Fort Erie is proud to announce that Town Council adopted the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan (AHCIP) on February 10, 2025 and further, approved the implementing by-law on February 24, 2025. This marks a significant milestone in the Town's ongoing efforts to increase access to affordable housing units for residents.

This initiative was designed to provide valuable support for affordable housing projects throughout the Town, offering financial incentives to encourage the development and revitalization of housing that meets the needs of individuals and families in Fort Erie.

The three (3) incentive programs being offered provide funding up to $20,000 to eligible properties/projects to a maximum of $500,000 per project. A summary of the programs are as follows:

1. Affordable Housing Per Door Grant (APD)

• Provides financial help for creating new affordable rental or ownership housing units by giving a lump sum grant per unit/per project to cover costs.

2. Affordable Housing Study Grant (ASG)

• Helps cover the cost of studies that explore the feasibility of including affordable housing in new developments or using cost-saving building materials.

3. Additional Dwelling Unit Grant (ADU)

• Offers a one-time grant to help with the cost of adding an additional apartment unit to an existing home or within an existing or new detached accessory structure.

Please refer to the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Guide below for more information and eligibility criteria:

Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan Guide

 To submit an application for funding through the AHCIP, please click on the button below:

Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan Application Form

There are many governing bodies that impact housing in Fort Erie. The Province provides high-level policy direction to municipalities. The Niagara Region serves as the appointed Service Manager when it comes to the provision of social and affordable housing.

The Niagara Region Official Plan contains Housing Policies that encourage diversity in housing type, size and tenure. In addition, the policies include targets used in measuring housing provision during the Official Plan.

Niagara Regional Housing is working to:

• Identify current and future housing needs,
• and provide strategies to improve access to housing.
• Ensure everyone in Niagara has an adequate, suitable and affordable place to live. (Through its Housing and Homelessness Action Plan (HHAP)).

Niagara Region Programs:

The Town of Fort Erie maintains its planning policy documents to conform with Regional and Provincial policies. The Town of Fort Erie also encourages a range of housing types within the Municipality.

Generally, the housing market can be viewed as a continuum where the housing supply responds to the range of housing demand in a community. This can range from emergency shelters to affordable housing units to market units.

Households can move back and forth along the continuum through different life-cycle stages. For example, senior homeowners may sell their homes and move to the private rental market. Therefore, each community needs to have an adequate supply of units throughout the continuum.

The Town is implementing the Housing Needs assessment and Housing Action Strategy recommendations. In addition, the Town is strengthening the current Official Plan policies to support affordable housing projects better and creating an Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan to provide incentives for affordable housing development. These initiatives will offer greater flexibility and financial incentives to the development community. This will encourage increasing the range of housing choices, tenures and prices available in the community.

Below are links to several Town initiatives that Council has endorsed to support affordable housing in the Community. In addition, several links to Federal, Provincial and Regional resources may provide guidance and help on services and supports that are in place to help affordable housing better.

Town of Fort Erie Housing Action Strategy

Town of Fort Erie Housing Needs Study

Niagara Regional Housing

Province of Ontario Housing Plan

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - Affordable Housing Development

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - Affordable Housing in Canada

Canada's Housing Strategy