If you are building affordable housing in Kitchener, you may be eligible for one or more of our programs.

On this page:

  1. About affordable housing incentives
  2. Not-for-profit affordable rental and co-op housing incentives (pilot)
  3. Affordable rental housing fee waiver
  4. Property Tax Exemption Program
  5. Resources

About affordable housing incentives

We have two types of affordable housing incentives:

If you're not sure where to start or have any questions, send us an email. We can assign your project to a project manager who will help you navigate the approvals process and meet your project timelines.

Not-for-profit affordable rental and co-op housing incentive (pilot)

This program will provide a grant for $10,000 per unit (up to a max of 50 units per project) for not-for-profit affordable rental or co-op housing units. The grant can cover non-capital upfront costs relating to site design and development approvals to help advance projects from an idea to being shovel ready.

Eligible projects would need to secure building permits by September 1, 2026.

Eligibility

Eligible projects will meet the following criteria:

  • projects will be subject to financial review to confirm project viability
  • applicant must be a non-profit housing developer
  • incentives only apply to the creation of new affordable dwelling units, as outlined in the policy
  • eligible projects are those that are in the early stages of ideation or concept development through building permit review (projects with a building permit issued for the proposed new units are not eligible)
  • proof of ownership or legal right to develop on lands

Eligible expenses include:

  • analysis of need and demand for the proposed project
  • project viability assessment plan/analysis -pro forma
  • preliminary financial feasibility
  • business plans
  • property appraisal
  • land surveys
  • planning analysis and studies
  • project drawings and specifications (conceptual to detailed design)
  • environmental site assessments
  • geotechnical surveys (e.g., soil load bearing tests)
  • energy modelling
  • accessibility modelling studies (cost-benefit analysis)
  • engineering studies (e.g., wind, shadow, and transportation analyses)
  • construction cost estimates
  • Quantity Surveyor
  • contract documents
  • legal fees associated with land development
  • interior design consultant services
  • other plans or studies, as required through a Planning Act application or building permit
  • municipal, development permit and other government agency fees not covered by our affordable rental housing fee waiver program
  • other items not on this list subject to City of Kitchener approval

Apply

Download the application form and email to our planning team together with digital copies of the required supporting information as outlined on the application form.

If your application is larger than 10 MB, please contact us to arrange for a file transfer.

Affordable rental housing fee waiver

If your non-profit corporation is planning an eligible affordable rental housing development in Kitchener, you can request exemption from:

  • development application fees
  • building permit fees

Eligibility

Eligible projects will meet the following criteria:

Apply

Download the application form and email it to our planning team together with digital copies of the required supporting information as outlined on the application form.

If your application is larger than 10 MB, please contact us to arrange for a file transfer.

Property Tax Exemption Program

The Property Tax Exemption Program creates and preserve affordable housing for low-to-moderate-income renters. The program allows participating affordable housing providers to be exempt from portions of their property tax bill. This helps with the acquisition and maintenance of buildings, keeping rents low over the long-term.

This program is administered by the Region of Waterloo on behalf of the City of Kitchener.  Applications are now being accepted on a rolling basis. To learn more about this program visit Region of Waterloo Property Tax Exemption Program - Region of Waterloo. 

Resources

To learn more about our affordable housing policies, reference these policies:

The Region of Waterloo is the service manager for housing in our area. Learn more about regional services and programs.

We developed a housing strategy aimed at addressing challenges to housing affordability in Kitchener across the housing continuum.

Get information about city permits and processes:

Not-For-Profit Affordable Rental & Co-op Housing Incentive Program resources: