Building housing on public land, a viable option to address the housing shortage: Expert

When the federal government released its latest budget it included a plan to convert “every possible piece” of government-owned land into affordable housing.

The Globe and Mail did a deep dive, identifying 613 pieces of what is known as “lazy land” in towns and cities across the country. Lazy Land is a property that is being underutilized while being suitable for housing development. Specifically, things like large parking lots, Canada Post facilities, armouries or vacant office buildings that could be repurposed or demolished.

Brian Doucet, Associate Professor, School of Planning, University of Waterloo told The Mike Farwell Show, the crux of the plan would see the government retain ownership of the land and lease it to potential builders.

“Land costs can be, depending where you are in the country, 15, 20, 25 per cent of the overall cost of developing housing,” he said. “If you remove that cost and rather than sell that land, you lease it to people who are going to build housing, you’re making the overall cost cheaper.”

Doucet said one of the major detractors for home builders when it comes to affordable housing is the cost of construction. They can’t turn a profit if the homes or units are priced below market value.

Leasing the land helps mitigate this problem. It also has the secondary effect of allowing not-for-profit organizations or communities to get back into the home-building game.

Leasing the land would ensure affordable housing is included in the new developments. Doucet said the current system prevents governments of any level from forcing developers to include low-cost units.

“If you own that land, you can all of a sudden set the rules.” He said. “So you can put a request for proposal that says we need a certain percentage of rent-controlled units. A certain percentage of family-sized units and a certain percentage of owner-occupied units.”