HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN-2025-372 - Recent Changes to Development ChargesStaff Report
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Financial Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Planning and Strategic Initiatives Committee
DATE OF MEETING: September 8, 2025
SUBMITTED BY: Katie Fischer, Director of Financial Reporting & ERP Solutions, 519-904-
9354
PREPARED BY: Katie Fischer, Director of Financial Reporting & ERP Solutions, 519-904-
9354
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All Wards
DATE OF REPORT: August 20, 2025
REPORT NO.: FIN -2025-372
SUBJECT: Recent Changes to Development Charges
RECOMMENDATION:
For information.
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
• The purpose of this report is to provide an update regarding the initial impacts to the City's
development charges (DCs) and related processes resulting from Bill 17, Protect Ontario by
Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025.
• The key finding of this report is that the introduction of DC deferral to occupancy for all
residential developments will have significant impacts to the City's DC cashflow and revenue
forecast. Additionally, it will add additional administrative work to process, track and collect
the deferred DCs.
• The financial implications are that the deferral of collecting DCs will result in significantly
less DC revenues over the initial deferral period.
• Community engagement included posting this report to the City's website with the agenda
in advance of the council / committee meeting
• This report supports Building a Connected City Together: Focuses on
neighbourhoods; housing and ensuring secure, affordable homes; getting around
easily, sustainably and safely to the places and spaces that matter.
BACKGROUND:
Development charges are fees imposed on developments to fund growth -related capital costs.
They traditionally followed a principle that "growth pays for growth", where the financial burden
of constructing new infrastructure needed to support development and intensification is not
borne by existing taxpayers but is factored into the cost of the new development. Per the City's
most recent DC background study completed in 2022, to effectively support the growth -related
capital plan the City should collect approximately $38 million in DC revenues per year, although
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actual DC collections has been less due in part to legislative discounts and exemptions in recent
years.
On May 12, 2025, the province introduced an omnibus bill, Bill 17 — Protect Ontario by Building
Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, to amend various Acts with respect to infrastructure, housing and
transit including the Development Charges Act, 1997. Bill 17 received Royal Assent on June 5,
2025. City of Kitchener staff provided comments, as outlined in Attachment A, prior to the bill
receiving royal assent.
The changes to the Development Charges Act (DCA) include:
Deferral of development charges (DCs) for residential developments to occupancy:
Previously, only rental housing developments and institutional developments were
eligible for DC deferrals (and these have only been in place since 2019 when Bill 108,
More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019 was enacted). With these changes under Bill 17,
all residential developments (ranging from single detached homes to condo -
developments) are eligible for DC deferrals payable at occupancy instead of at building
permit issuance. This new deferral comes into effect on a date yet to be named by the
Province at the time of writing this report. Rental housing developments and institutional
developments will continue to be deferred with payments occurring over 6 annual
installments beginning at occupancy (compared to non -rentals which are payable in full
at occupancy), as is existing practice.
Removal of interest on deferrals / instalments: Previously, the City charged interest
at a rate of Prime + 1 % on all DC deferrals for rentals and institutional deferrals, as was
provided under the DCA. Removal of this ability results in an annual loss of revenues of
$650,000. Additionally, it is anticipated to increase the number of developers choosing
the deferral program given it acts similar to an interest-free loan, which will further impact
the City's timing of cashflows on DC revenues.
Exemption for long-term care homes: Long-term care homes are classed as
"institutional developments" and pay DCs based on the non-residential per square
footage rate; they were previously eligible for the institutional DC deferral with payments
occurring over 6 annual installments beginning at occupancy. With Bill 17, these are now
fully DC exempt, to support and incentivize the building of needed long-term care beds.
For the City of Kitchener, this results in an immediate reversal of $162,378 in DCs that
were previously in deferral for a long-term care development.
Regulation -making authority to impose limits on eligible capital costs, define local
services, and prescribe benefit -to -existing ratios, as well as standardize DC
background studies and annual reporting requirements: The stated objective is to
simplify and standardize DC -related components that can vary from one municipality to
another. No regulations have been released at present time and will be assessed if and
when they become available, as they could have a range of impacts from minimal to major
changes in terms of what can be funded from DCs.
Page 160 of 167
Simplified DC by-law amendment process: Municipalities are enabled to make
changes that only have the effect of reducing DCs without having to amend or undertake
a new background study, hold public consultations, etc.
REPORT:
The deferral of DCs for residential developments to occupancy will have major impacts to 1) the
City's cashflow critical to funding housing -enabling infrastructure, and 2) the City's administrative
functions in processing, tracking and collecting DC deferrals. The impacts of each are described
below.
Cashflow Impacts
The City anticipates a waiting period ranging from six months to two years as developments
progress from building permit issuance to occupancy stage, with minimal DC revenues collected
during this waiting period. This pause in collection on residential developments could result in a
reduction of $50-60 million in revenues over the next two years.
During this waiting period, Kitchener will still need to rely on its DC reserves to fund housing -
enabling infrastructure. Presently, Kitchener's DC reserve funds have an overall negative
balance as shown in the graph below. Prior to Bill 17, the City's negative DC reserve funds
were expected to return to a positive position within the 10 -year capital forecast period.
However, with the enactment of this Bill, the DC reserve funds are now projected to remain
negative beyond the 10 -year forecast even with an anticipated $199 million in DC -supported
debt forecasted from 2024 to 2028.
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Page 161 of 167
Additionally, with the elimination of interest on rental DC deferrals, the City anticipates more
rental developments will opt to defer their DCs over the 6 years following occupancy which will
further negatively impact the City's DC cashflow in the coming years. Prior to Bill 17, nearly
half of the rental housing developments that the City has had since 2019 have elected to pay
early. It is anticipated that with a 0% interest rate, most developers will opt for the deferral in
the future as it operates similar to an interest-free loan.
Within the existing DC deferral framework for rental residential developments effective since
2019, the City has experienced challenges in collecting DCs owed on the annual installments.
These payments start at the time building occupancy is granted, and therefore the City does
not have the ability to withhold a permit to ensure collection. This has resulted $4.8 million
(reflecting both the City and Regional DC portions, as the City is responsible for collecting both
DCs and property taxes on behalf of the Region) of uncollectible DCs that have now been
transferred to the associated property tax rolls to attempt collection there. Additionally, the
efforts to work towards collection from the developers on the deferrals adds to the
administrative work of staff. With the increase in deferrals anticipated, these uncollectible
balances — as well as the effort to track and attempt collection — are anticipated to increase.
DC Collections Administrative Processes
The deferral of municipal DCs to occupancy on all residential developments adds to the
administrative work associated with building permits and occupancy permits and the collection
of DCs. There are now 3 distinct collection time periods for DCs:
1) Building permit issuance:
o Education (school boards) DCs are distinct and governed separately from
municipal DCs, as part of the Education Act, R.S.O. 1990. The Province has not
modified the collection of these DCs and they remain payable at building permit
issuance for all development types.
o Non-residential DCs (i.e. commercial, industrial; with the exclusion of
institutional) remain payable at building permit issuance. Note that there can be
multi -residential developments that also include a commercial space (e.g. on the
ground floor), with the commercial component payable at building permit
issuance even while the residential component is deferred.
o Prior to 2019, all DCs were payable at building permit issuance.
2) Six annual installments beginning at occupancy:
o In 2019, the Province introduced "DC deferrals" for rental residential and
institutional developments (as well as nonprofit housing, but these were later
made fully exempt). These deferrals are payable in six equal annual installments
(over a period of 5 years) beginning at occupancy.
3) Occupancy permit, paid in full:
o With Bill 17, all remaining residential developments (i.e. not meeting the
definitional of rental housing development) are now payable in full at occupancy
permit. This is an entirely new trigger timeline associated with DCs and new
process required for collection.
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Historically, the work associated with calculating and collecting DCs has been done at building
permit issuance. The shift to DC deferrals does not move the administrative efforts away from
building permit, as the full efforts remain in place at that time to calculate, communicate, and
collect some DCs at building permit:
• The City still must coordinate DC certification with the Region of Waterloo and both the
Public and Catholic school boards at building permit application.
• The City is still required to collect education DCs and non-residential DCs at that time.
• The municipalities (City and Region) are required under financial reporting rules to
record the necessary receivable for tracking the deferred DCs.
• The City is required to communicate to the developer their deferred DC obligation and
payment terms.
DC deferral adds new administrative processes to track the receivables, communicate with
developers, issue invoices at occupancy permits (and annual installments thereafter where
applicable), and follow through on collection. Staff are working on defining new processes and
changes needed to systems to support this work. Once defined, staff resources that may be
required to administer the new DC deferral and occupancy permit processes will be handled
using temporary resources until the full impact and scope of work is well refined over time.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This report supports Building a Connected City Together: Focuses on neighbourhoods;
housing and ensuring secure, affordable homes; getting around easily, sustainably and
safely to the places and spaces that matter.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The deferral of collecting DCs will result in significantly less DC revenues over the initial deferral
period. This may necessitate an increase in grant funding from the Provincial or Federal
governments to mitigate impacts, potential deferral of growth capital projects, increased debt,
and/or increased DC rates. Staff will continue to monitor the City's DC revenues, reserve funds,
and DC -funded capital projects. Additionally, with the City's DC by-law expiring in June 2027, a
new DC background study is planned to commence in 2026, which will include a detailed
analysis on the City's DC rates, capital project forecast, and reserve funds.
It is anticipated that the additional DC deferrals to occupancy will require more administrative
resources to track, process, invoices, collect, and to avoid any delayed occupancy issues. In the
more immediate term, resources that may be required to administer the new DC deferral and
occupancy permit processes will be handled using temporary resources until the full impact and
scope of work is well refined over time.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.
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PREVIOUS REPORTS/AUTHORITIES:
• Development Charges By -Law, 2022-071
• Development Charges Act, 1997
APPROVED BY: Jonathan Lautenbach, Chief Financial Officer
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A — Submission to Province's Proposal 25-MMAH003 Changes to the
Development Charges Act, 1997 to Simplify and Standardize the Development Charge
(DC) Framework
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June 5, 2025
Attn: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Re: Changes to the Development Charges Act, 1997 to Simplify and Standardize the
Development Charge (DC) Framework
Proposal Number: 25-MMAH003
The City of Kitchener is committed to fostering an affordable, livable, and welcoming
community. Recognizing the ongoing housing crisis, Kitchener remains dedicated to
working with the Province of Ontario to develop effective solutions. The city is focused on
expediting the construction of new homes and infrastructure to address this issue.
Kitchener continues to be a provincial leader in streamlining development processes,
consistently meeting all legislated planning timelines since 2023.
Kitchener appreciates the opportunityto offer feedback as the province begins
implementing the proposed provisions of Bill 17. It is crucial for municipalities, who are
directly impacted, to be continuously consulted during this process. Similarly, we look
forward to providing further feedback as the province develops development charges (DC)
regulations pertaining to prescribing benefit to existing rates, defining local services, and
reviewing capital cost inclusions.
In the context of this consultation, the citywould like to highlight three primary concerns
regarding the deferral of residential DC payments to the occupancy stage. These concerns
pertain to cash flow implications, increased administrative burden, and legal and
enforcement clarity.
Cash Flow Implications
In light of Bill 17, Kitchener anticipates collecting minimal DC revenues for one to two years
as developments progress towards occupancy. This could result in a reduction of $50-60
million in revenue over the first two years.
During this waiting period, Kitchener relies on its annual reserves to fund housing -enabling
infrastructure. Presently, Kitchener's DC reserve funds have an overall negative balance.
Prior to Bill 17, the city's negative DC reserve funds were expected to return to a positive
position within the 10 -year capital forecast period. However, with the enactment of this bill,
the DC reserve funds are now projected to remain negative beyond the 10 -year forecast
even with an anticipated $194 million in DC -supported debt forecasted from 2024 to 2028.
This scenario will have negative impacts on the city, requiring reprioritization and delay of
key capital infrastructure projects. It may also result in the accrual of additional debt.
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Furthermore, there could be an increase in development charges to mitigate the impact,
and potentially, a shift in growth costs to existing taxpayers and ratepayers to maintain
balanced finances.
Kitchener has experienced a rise in rental housing construction in recent years. Following
changes implemented by Bill 23, some developers of rental units have elected to pay early
while others use the rental deferral program currently in place under the DCA. Making
these deferrals interest-free may lead to a greater number of developers opting to defer
payment, further exacerbating the city's cash flow impact.
The loss of interest income from the current deferral program has an annual revenue
impact of $650,000.
Administrative Impact
The deferral of residential DC payments from building permit issuance to occupancy will
require significant enhancements to administrative procedures, systems, and staffing.
Municipalities will need to develop robust systems and processes capable of monitoring
the status of deferred payments and generating alerts for unpaid DCs ahead of occupancy
approval.
Furthermore, additional personnel may be required to manage these processes effectively,
conduct reviews, and enforce compliance. This administrative expansion may lead to
increased operational costs, further straining municipal budgets already impacted by
reduced DC cash flow.
Legal and Enforcement Clarity
Prior to the enforcement of this provision, a mechanism is needed to deny occupancy until
DC payment is received is vital. Without clear regulations to ensure payment of DCs,
municipalities are left in a precarious position. Establishing well-defined legal and
enforcement mechanisms is essential to uphold accountability and ensure that DC
payments are collected at the appropriate stage.
These regulations should outline the legal framework within which municipalities can
operate, providing clarity on their rights and responsibilities when DC payments are
deferred. This may include implementing a formal procedure for notifying developers of
outstanding DC obligations prior to occupancy approval, as well as creating penalties or
interest charges for late payments to discourage deferrals without valid cause. Additionally,
the ability to hold securities through the deferral period on any development types — not
limited to those where occupancy permits do not apply—would help ensure that future
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homeowners are not left paying through their property tax roll for DCs that a developer
failed to remit.
It is important to recognize that a mechanism granting legal authority via the Building Code
for municipalities to condition the issuance of occupancy permits on the payment of
development charges could place undue pressure on municipal building officials and may
not be an effective solution.
The introduction of such mechanisms would safeguard municipal budgets against the
financial instability caused by DC collection challenges, ensuring that infrastructure
projects vital to housing development are not further jeopardized or delayed. Addressing
this gap in enforcement clarity is a pivotal step toward achieving a balanced and equitable
implementation of Bill 17.
Final Remarks
The City of Kitchener recognizes the immense importance of provincial partnership in
addressing the housing crisis. While the city remains committed to accelerating
development approval processes to get housing built faster, Kitchener urges the province
to consider the financial and administrative impacts that Bill 17 poses related to delaying
DCs from building permit to occupancy.
As a partner in progress, Kitchener reiterates its dedication to being a steadfast ally in
fostering affordable and livable communities. However, it stresses that this partnership
must be supported by thoughtful measures that accelerate the delivery of housing and
infrastructure projects, while also safeguarding municipal budgets from undue strain.
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