Repair costs for RGI homes expected to hit $122 million
Peterborough’s supply of more than 1,500 rent-geared-to-income (RGI) homes is going to need $122 million in repairs and maintenance over the next 20 years, councillors learned on Monday night.
And it looks as though the city will have to find a way to pay for it.
The detail was part of a report offered to councillors at a general committee meeting.
Consultant Tim Welch was updating councillors on how the city delivers and manages RGI housing programs, on behalf of the provincial and federal governments, in both the city and County of Peterborough.
Welch’s report to councillors shows Peterborough Housing Corporation operates 1,216 affordable housing units in Peterborough, 880 of them RGI.
Plus there are 14 non-profit housing providers in the city that have 796 units — 663 of them RGI.
That’s a total of 1,543 RGI units in Peterborough.
RGI housing in the area was mostly built between the 1950s and the late 1990s, states a new city staff report, and Welch estimates the units will need $122 million in maintenance, over the next two decades.
Although the city’s not mandated to cover repair costs, the city staff report points out that it must operate this housing “in a way that ensures sustainability and viability,” and that underfunding could mean the units fall into disrepair and will be lost.
Coun. Keith Riel said he resents the idea that cities are going to be left to cover those maintenance costs, even though they aren’t mandated to do so.
“What’s happening here is a download on municipalities,” he said. “The federal and provincial governments can’t get their acts together.”
Council wasn’t meant to debate solutions on Monday night. In the fall, city staff is expected to explain funding options to council in detail. Welch told councillors on Monday that one way to keep up the maintenance is to apply for lowinterest loans or grants from the federal government.
There are federal programs to fund projects that increase home energy efficiency, for example, which the consultant said reduces the operating costs of the homes in the long run.
Furthermore, Welch said these federal programs for energy efficiency are “undersubscribed,” meaning there’s money available because cities tend not to apply.
In other business at the committee meeting, council gave preliminary approval to the following items (with a ratification vote to follow at an upcoming city council meeting):
Pedestrian safety
Councillors approved a city staff recommendation to add a new pedestrian crossover with rapidflashing beacons along Maria Street at Mark Street, near the Rogers Cove splash pad.
Child care
Councillors approved a growth plan that aims to add 485 new child-care spaces between 2022 and 2026 (using federal and provincial government money).
It’s part of the agreement Ontario reached with the federal government in March 2022 that aims to offer child care in Canada for $10 a day by 2026.
There are currently 4,466 licensed child-care spaces in the city and County of Peterborough.
A total of 308 more spaces must be added in the city and county by 2026 to reach the goal of 485 new spaces over five years.
Coun. Matt Crowley didn’t vote on this issue, saying his wife runs a home daycare.
Habitat for Humanity
Councillors approved an increase in incentives to be offered to Habitat for Humanity as it builds a second condo complex on Leahy’s Lane.
In 2022, Habitat opened a 41-unit complex at 21 Leahy’s Lane, at the corner of Parkhill Road East in the city’s northeast end, with the idea that a later phase of construction would add a 12-unit condo complex.
That second complex is now under construction. But a city staff report states that the development fee refund of $237,827, estimated in 2022, is outdated: it was based on development fees from two years ago.
A new estimate, based on 2024 development charges, shows the project is eligible for a total refund of $291,622, an increase of $53,795 in refunds (which council approved).