City offering more grants for housing, including granny suites

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A month after the City of Fredericton started creating new grant programs to help non-profits build affordable housing units, more grants are being developed to support affordable housing and build granny suites.

City council unanimously approved a plan Monday to launch another two grant programs using some of Fredericton’s allotment from the federal housing accelerator fund.

One program is aimed at supporting housing developments for moderate-income families. Another will subsidize the construction of granny suites, also known as accessory dwelling units, on lots with existing buildings.

“Our application to the housing accelerator fund not only included programs for the rental market, but it also had affordable homeownership options for non-profit, community, and private developers and individual homeowners,” Janet Flowers, the city’s affordable housing development co-ordinator, said at the April 4 economic vitality committee meeting.

Of the $10.27 million the city received from the housing accelerator fund for a four-year term, Flowers said $1.5 million has been earmarked for the modest homes initiative. Another $450,000 has been set aside for the granny suite incentive, but funds from the housing accelerator can be reallocated to different projects included in the city’s application.

Flowers said the modest homes initiative will provide per-unit grants to private-sector builders to construct new homes meeting specific affordability requirements. It will support non-profit housing providers, including local First Nations off-reserve developers, in creating homeownership opportunities using existing federal and provincial programs.

The program is also aimed at helping moderate-income first-time homebuyers build affordable homes, Flowers said. Newly constructed units must meet criteria such as maximum square footage depending on bedroom size, maximum frontage, and no garages. Restrictions will be placed on the land title to ensure affordability over 20 years.The modest homes initiative also requires at least two bedrooms. Size limits are 1,500 square feet per two-bedroom unit and 2,500 square feet per three-bedroom unit. Existing homes on the market won’t be eligible.

The granny suite program will provide $15,000 per unit resulting from new construction, renovation, or the reuse or repurposing of existing structures or accessory buildings. Units must comply with the zoning bylaw, and tenancies must be longer than six months to be eligible. Construction must be finished within 12 months of receiving a building permit.

Flowers said zoning bylaw amendments to support accessory units will likely come to council for a vote this summer.

The new grants are complimentary to the ones created in March to help non-profits build capacity to develop housing, community housing groups to access funding for pre-development costs for new affordable projects, and to increase the city’s rental housing supply through incentives for non-profit and private developers. Those incentives will be paid out per unit based on housing type and location.

Another program launched last month and being funded entirely by the municipality is an affordable housing permit and community planning fees grant, which Flowers said will support “deeply affordable” housing projects. Eligible projects would have tenants spending no more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs and whose incomes are within Housing New Brunswick’s income limits.

Flowers said planning and permit fees would be paid upfront, then be reimbursed when developers apply for building permits.