Burlington Housing Strategy

The Draft Amendment to Burlington’s Community Improvement Plan is available to review. Staff have also prepared a background document similar to the one that will be presented at our upcoming Public Open Houses.

City Council is exploring real options to create more housing in our community. Since the creation of the Council approved Housing Strategy, the City has taken steps to support a wider range of housing options.

In 2025, the City created a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to support new housing.

We’re now looking at options to temporarily expand incentives in that plan. These options could include refunding the City's portion of development charges, reducing City fees, or proposing other incentives to help more homes get built, where housing projects meet key criteria. The City is exploring funding sources other than property taxes to fund the incentives.

Now, we want to hear from you.

We’re considering updates to the City's Housing Community Improvement Plan. Join us to learn more and share your input on how the City can support more rental, ownership and affordable housing.

The feedback you provide will help inform future recommendations to City Council as they consider next steps to support housing in Burlington.

Statutory Public Meeting

You are invited to attend a Statutory Public Meeting, under the Planning Act on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, to provide comments on the proposed ARHCIP amendment. No decisions about the proposal have been made yet. We are asking for your feedback to inform a future recommended amendment to the Committee of the Whole. This meeting will be held at Burlington City Hall, 426 Brant St.

• Public Meeting Date: April 14, 2026
• Time: 9:30 am
• Location: Online at burlington.ca/meetings or in person at Burlington City Hall, Council Chambers, 2nd floor, 426 Brant St.

Feedback and comments received at the Statutory Public Meeting will inform a recommended ARHCIP amendment that will be presented for Council’s consideration in the future.

How to Obtain Materials

The proposed ARHCIP amendment will be available for public review on Monday, March 23, 2026. The draft amendment will be available on this page. The staff report will be available on Thursday, April 2, 2026 at burlington.ca/meetings by searching for the Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday, April 13, 2026. If you require a hard copy of the report, please email Legislative Services at clerks@burlington.ca to arrange pick up.

Speaking at the Statutory Public Meeting as a Delegation

To speak at the Public Meeting, there are 2 options:

1. Pre-register to speak by noon on Friday, April 10, 2026, before the meeting is to be held. You can pre-register in one of the following ways:

• Complete the online delegation request form at burlington.ca/delegation;
• Submit a written request by email to Legislative Services at clerks@burlington.ca, or phone 905-335-7600, ext. 7481

2. Register during the Public Meeting.

• If you are viewing the livestream, you can register to speak by emailing clerks@burlington.ca, as noted in the ticker tape that will be scrolling along the bottom of the live stream webcast of the meeting with registration information.
• If you are attending the meeting in person, you can register to speak during the meeting by following instructions provided at the meeting.

Speakers are limited to a maximum of 10 minutes each and are webcast online. If you have presentation materials, they must be submitted to Legislative Services at clerks@burlington.ca no later than noon, Friday, April 10, 2026 to allow for their distribution and review by all members of the Committee. Please note the content of all submissions is considered public and will be posted on the City’s website.

Tell Us What You Think

In addition to the Statutory Public Meeting, several public engagement sessions will be held. You are invited to an upcoming open house to share your feedback and help shape Burlington’s Community Improvement Plan.

Virtual Public Open House

• Public Meeting Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
• Time: 1 – 3 p.m.
• Location: Online via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85970395995

In person Public Open House

• Public Meeting Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2026
• Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
• Location: In person at Appleby Ice Centre, Community Room 1, 1201 Appleby Line

Virtual Public Open House

• Public Meeting Date: Thursday, March 26, 2026
• Time: 7 – 9 p.m.
• Location: Online via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81639539124

All open house options are an opportunity to provide comments on the proposed amendment.

You may also send your comment correspondence to housingstrategy@burlington.ca by noon Friday, April 10, 2026 if you wish for it to be distributed and reviewed by all members of the Committee in advance of the Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

You may also request a meeting to talk to a planner about the proposed ARHCIP amendment. This engagement opportunity is open until Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Send an email to housingstrategy@burlington.ca to book a meeting time

Are you a Burlington homeowner interested in building a rental suite on your property? Join us for an in-person Additional Residential Unit (ARU) Information Session to learn how you can receive up to $95,000 per unit through the City of Burlington’s ARU Incentive Program.

📅 Date: Monday July 28, 2025
🕑 Time: 7 – 9 pm
📍 Location: City Hall, 426 Brant St., Council Chambers & room 247
🔗 Register here: register to attend

This session will provide an overview of incentives for homeowners to create legal, long-term rental units.

What to expect:

• Overview of the ARU Incentive Program
• Live demo of the new Burlington ARU Look up Tool
• City staff Q&A

Learn how Burlington is supporting homeowners to create more housing options across the city.

Spaces are limited—register early!

www.burlington.ca/ARUincentive

On April 15, 2025, Council adopted the Burlington Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP has 10 financial incentive programs that are intended to help create more diverse affordable rental housing options in Burlington’s urban area.

The recently launched Additional Residential Unit Incentive Program includes CIP and non CIP initiatives to support the creation of new affordable rental ARUs and legalize existing ARUs. The program funding is outlined in the May 12, 2025 Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) report.

City Staff completed a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) for the City of Burlington. The HNA Report presented to Council as attachment A to the staff memo DGM-53-25 - Housing Needs Assessment Report - Burlington that included to the Council Information Package on June 6, 2025. The HNA is a tool identified by the Federal Government in Canada’s Housing Plan and Budget 2024 that the Federal Government is using in taking an evidence-based long-term approach to addressing housing needs across the country. Completion of the HNA is required to meet eligibility for the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) and other federal funding programs.

Burlington's ARU Incentive Program offers you municipal fee waivers and financial incentives for affordable rental ARUs. You may also use it to legalize an existing non-compliant ARU.

The NEW Incentives for Additional Residential Units (ARUs) offer:

• Municipal Fee Waivers
• Forgivable Loans for Affordable Rental ARUs
• Grants to Legalize Existing ARUs

For more information, visit ARU Incentives Program and fill out the application form to apply for incentives to create or legalize an Additional Residential Unit (ARU).

This program is part of Burlington City Council’s approval of the Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan and is funded through the May 2025 Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) report.

The City of Burlington invites developers and vendors specializing in basement conversions, garage conversions, and detached (non-modular) Additional Residential Units (ARUs) to a virtual info session on new funding incentives available through the Affordable Rental Housing CIP and Housing Accelerator Fund.

Date: Monday June 9, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (ET)
Location: Online (Microsoft Teams) Join the meeting, Meeting ID: 233 440 325 142 9 - Passcode: My9Bm9z6

This session is your opportunity to:

• Learn about up to $70,000 in funding for basement or garage conversions
• Learn about up to $95,000 in funding for detached ARUs
• Provide feedback on application and eligibility processes
• Connect with City staff in housing, planning, zoning, and building

Let’s build more affordable rental options together.

On May 12, 2025, City staff will present report DGM-33-25: Housing Accelerator Fund Community Improvement Plan Implementation Update. In this report, staff is recommending how Housing Accelerator Funds should be spent on the approved Affordable Rental Housing CIP programs. Staff will look at other ways to support these programs in future budget conversations.

A link to watch the meeting be found in the Agenda Meeting Package for the May 12/13, Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting at www.burlington.ca/calendar. If you would like to speak at the COW meeting, you can do so by pre-registering to speak by noon on Friday May 9, 2025 by:

1. Filling out the form at www.burlington.ca/delegation
2. submitting a written request by email to the Office of the City Clerk at clerks@burlington.ca or
3. calling 905-335-7777, ext. 7481.

On April 15, 2025, Council adopted the Burlington Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP has 10 financial incentive programs. This includes:

• grants
• forgivable loans
• municipal fee waivers
• development charges assistance
• brownfields tax assistance

The incentives are intended to help create more diverse affordable rental housing options in Burlington’s urban area.

A staff memo shares responses from City staff to public feedback that took place between March 19 and April 10. This includes the public meeting on April 8, 2025, about the City’s Draft Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Plan. The memo also outlines any recommended changes based on the feedback received.

The By-laws to designate the Burlington Affordable Rental Housing Community Improvement Project Area (CIPA) and to adopt the CIP for the CIPA, are available in the April 15^th Council Minutes.

By-law #23-2025, is subject to a 20-day appeal period and is posted on the City’s Public Notice page.

• EDUCATIONAL SESSION - Unlock the Potential of Your Garage: Learn How to Use Burlington’s New Garage Conversion Kit
• DATE/TIME: Wednesday, April 30, 10 a.m. – noon and 7 – 9 p.m.
• WHERE: Burlington City Hall, 426 Brant St., Room 247, Burlington ON L7R 3Z6

Join us for City Staff and experts for an informative educational session on how to transform your garage into a functional living space using the City of Burlington’s new Garage Conversion Kit.

This toolkit is a guide to create safe, legal secondary units on your property.

During this session, City zoning and building staff will provide guidance on regulations and permits, and incentives. The experts who designed the toolkit will walk you through it.

This session is for anyone in Burlington looking for information or to get started on a rental unit or space for extended family on their property.

This session is brought to you by the City of Burlington at no charge. Please register to attend