York Housing Strategic Plan 2021-2024: Addressing Challenges and Building Inclusive Communities

The extent of York housing challenges has been increasing for many reasons. An extremely limited supply of rental housing in York with stunted vacancy rates. However, the cost of home ownership still remains inaccessible for a lot of inhabitants. Due to this, there is an increasing need to provide affordable housing strategic plan solutions in York Region. Since Housing York Inc. (HYI) is the housing corporation of the Regional Municipality of York Region, it is responsible for creating complete communities.

The HYI Board of Directors has committed to ensuring a strategic housing plan for individuals and families (ranging from all age groups and places). It comprises incorporating ways-

• To support a healthy supply of affordable rental housing.
• To ensure that the correct supports and services are obtainable for HYI inhabitants.

Navigating the Progress From 2017 to 2020

From 2017 to 2020, Housing York Inc. operated with the Region and other stakeholders further advance their objectives and goals. They did this with the help of the details and annual reports given to them. The salient features of this plan are as follows:-

Sustaining and Expanding the HYI Portfolio

• The authorities unrolled Woodbridge Lane. This is a new 162-unit apartment building; it replaced two small former HYI buildings located in the City of Vaughan. 
• The authorities finished about 300 capital projects, comprising roof replacements, generators, lighting upgrades, parking lot replacements and building envelope enhancements. 
• The authorities created an Energy and Utilities Management Plan resulting in emission reductions, and energy and cost savings. 
• The authorities created and sanctioned a Portfolio Management Plan. 
• The authorities enacted a long-term fiscal strategy.

Supporting HYI Residents and Operations

• The authorities created a Resident Inclusion Plan to support welcoming and inclusive communities. 
• The authorities engaged residents through health, safety and wellness programs, educational workshops, and community events to support and connect residents in healthy, inclusive communities.
• The authorities created HYI’s new mission and vision statements. 
• The authorities finished a resident survey in 2019 to better understand and respond to residents’ diverse needs.

Grasping the Updated Plan for 2021 to 2024

The new document shows the updated plan for 2021 to 2024 to continue advancing towards HYI’s vision of building communities. As per the plan, they aim to develop houses that the residents proudly call home. It shows their input and feedback from the Board of Directors. It also features the results of an environmental scan and needs assessment. Their preference for this strategy relies on the accomplishments and advancements during the 2017 and 2020 periods. They acknowledged the ongoing and latest challenges affecting inhabitants and HYI’s business.

Each strategic priority has specific goals for the upcoming four years, high-level actions to achieve them, and key performance indicators and targets to measure success. The actions, key performance indicators and targets cover the total four years of the plan. To operationalize this Strategic Plan, annual business plans and targets will be developed for each individual year of the plan. They will manage the performance against the annual plans very carefully. They will track it to ensure success in delivering on the four-year commitments contained in this plan.

Looking at the Procedure of the Development of this Plan

The creation of this plan considered HYI’s achievements from 2017 to 2020, as HYI wants to keep up these accomplishments. It also considered York Region’s population and housing demographics change from 2017. In the year ‘19, an HYI resident survey was conducted. It recognised HYI’s robustness and areas of improvement. After this, they identified the principle measures and goals to create inclusive groups and provide aid and assistance to the inhabitants.

The Board was occupied with 3 workshops conducted throughout the year 2020. It was done to affirm HYI’s vision as well as its mission. The workshops were instrumental in notifying calculated precedences, measures and crucial performance signs and targets. With this, they were able to analyse the draft plan. The inhabitants and the Board’s critique acted as an aid to make certain that the Strategic Plan echoes the requirements of local communities.

Comprehending the Funding of the Plan 

The aforementioned Strategic Plan consists of lots of objectives and measures to assist HYI's progress in order to achieve its vision. Their budget empowers the corporation to administer strategic decrees. It allows them to oversee growing service requests, and sustain/ improve existing service levels. They would submit the capital implications to the Board to execute the plan. This will be done for deliberation as part of the yearly budget procedure.

The necessary measures linked to the expansion of HYI’s portfolio could be based on federal and provincial funding. The accessibility of funds from senior levels of government could affect the capability of HYI to progress the development-related measures throughout the 4 years of the aforementioned plan. 

Apprehending the Strategic Alignment

The federal financing and provincial financing, along with the policy environment, lays down the context and notifies planning for the Region as well as HYI.

Despite the fact that the Region’s part as Service Manager is distinct from HYI’s part as a York housing provider, this Strategic Plan helps crucial Council-sanctioned preferences. It comprises all the Council-approved plans (Oct 2019), such as the following:

• Corporate Strategic Plan (2019-2023)
• Housing strategic plan and Solutions 
• IInd Phase of the Region’s decade-long housing and homelessness plan

Since HYI is the Region’s housing corporation, it has a crucial part. 

As the Region’s housing corporation, HYI has an important role in helping the Region achieve its goals for the housing strategic plan and homelessness system.

Understanding Strategy 1: Expanded Housing Portfolio

Economical, shielded and steady housing is a necessary social determinant of health, profitability, and positive social and health results. This tactical preference identifies that a good production of economical and rental accommodations is required in the York Region. Individuals and households (from all age groups and areas of life) must have accessible dwelling solutions. HYI can donate to Regional housing strategy initiatives in order to boost the production of economic and rental dwelling solutions in local communities.

Under the first strategic priority, for the next 4 years, the authorities will continue to:

• Sustain HYI’s building’s state to help positive performance and inhabitants’ solace. They will make sure that the existing supply doesn’t decline. 
• Execute global design principles and construct attainable units in the latest HYI developments to provide premium housing for all HYI inhabitants.
•  Collaborate with partners to recommend persistent and foreseeable funding sources for capital resources and new development.

What will be the Role of the Region?

The commitments of the Region play a crucial role in this plan. It is their responsibility to:

• Approve the advancement of the portfolio beyond the normal growth rate.
• Growing sources of funding for new economical housing, comprising from seniour government levels, to decrease the price to the Region.
• Giving incentives to motivate the creation of new economical purpose-built rental dwellings.

Understanding Strategy 2: Inclusive Communities and Successful Tenancies

This strategy is instrumental in helping inhabitants to provide stable housing. It is a primary concern for HYI and the Region. They ensure that the inhabitants get assistance obtaining desirable tenancies and further improve their lifestyles. This implies considering that the inhabitants are individuals, giving the correct services at the correct time, and creating inclusive communities.

Under the first strategic priority, for the next 4 years, the authorities will continue to:

• Ensure that the inhabitants are associated with Regional social work supports and give capital learning. This will assist the inhabitants in budgeting and remaining financially stable.
• Collaborate with community partners to come up with a variety of programs and services for HYI buildings.
• Focus on food security and food access programs for inhabitants.
• Assist so that the inhabitants have better access to technology. 
• Give operations and maintenance services.

What Will be the Role of the Region?

The commitments of the Region play a crucial role in this plan. It is their responsibility to:

• Help residents search for and keep housing with the help of their strategic housing plan.
• Changing and managing the subsidised housing waitlist.
• Executing the Regions’ Inclusion Charter.

Understanding Strategy 3 Financial Sustainability

This strategy is instrumental so that the community has premium quality housing in the present and in the future. It acknowledges that sturdy housing, efficient buildings, and newer methods to get funds are essential for sustainable housing. This is because sources of capital might be difficult to attain. This implies they have to safeguard HYI’s existing assets and manage resources in order to assist newer initiatives.

Under the first strategic priority, for the next 4 years, the authorities will continue to:-

• Act in accordance with the policies and principles recognised in the long-term fiscal strategy.  It also comprises carefully managing the reserves. 
• Improve the property management system, consisting latest software modules to assist the business needs.
• Finance the cost of the renovation and upgradation. This is important to ensure these units are safe, accessible and have longevity.

What Will be the Role of the Region?

The commitments of the Region play a crucial role in this plan. It is their responsibility to:-

Improve the approach outlook to developing an affordable York housing strategic plan, which reduces total lifecycle costs.

• Collaborate with Service Managers throughout the area to create a synchronised response to the termination of mortgage opportunities for housing providers. 
• Train the community housing providers on the conclusion of operating agreements and termination of mortgages.
• Enacting conservation of energy and GHG deduction initiatives recognised in the Corporate Energy Conservation and Demand Management Plan.

Summing Up

York Housing Inc. has successfully maintained its portfolio in good condition of the repairs. They have added more units to the portfolio to grow inhabitants’ access to economical housing with their housing strategy in 2023.

Like the Region’s Corporate Strategic Plan (2019 - 2023) and decade-long housing and homelessness plan, Housing York Region’s Strategic Plan (2021 - 2024) expands 

the housing portfolio and supports inhabitants’ requirements. They promoted inclusive communities and successful tenancies and ensured capital sustainability. The objectives and measures within the plan allow Housing York Inc to bring innovation and search for new business methods. The plan will develop Housing York Inc to build better communities and collaborate with inhabitants and partners to bring quality services.

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