Muskoka Housing Task Force

Join us this National Housing Day for an inspiring morning of learning and connection, part of our ongoing work towards Housing for Everyone in Muskoka.

Are you a community member, organization, or group that wants to better understand the realities of homelessness and learn how you can help?

The Muskoka Housing Task Force invites you to “Housing First: It Takes a Village” — a morning dedicated to raising awareness, reducing stigma, and sparking local solutions.

This event will feature stories from individuals who have faced homelessness, insights from local service providers on the supports they offer that help people rebuild their lives, and opportunities to understand the complex factors that can contribute to a person becoming homeless. A light breakfast will also be included.

Together, we can deepen understanding of homelessness in Muskoka, see how local services and supports are working together, and discover how individuals and community groups can be part of the solution - taking meaningful steps toward Housing for Everyone, a Muskoka where everyone has a place to call home.

The Details:

When: Saturday, November 22, 2025 (National Housing Day!)

Time:

• 7:30am: Doors Open
• 8am - 11am: Formal Agenda
• 11am - 12pm: Optional Networking Doors

Where: Gravenhurst Centennial Centre, Terry Fox Room (101 Centennial Drive, Gravenhurst - upstairs)

Breakfast: Will be provided

Cost: Free public event

If you are interested in joining the event, please complete the registration form at the link below:

Please note: This event is open to all community members and local groups interested in learning about homelessness in Muskoka.

Register at: online-forms.muskoka.on.ca/Housing/Muskoka-Housing-Task-Force/Housing-First-Event-Registration

If you have questions, please contact HousingTaskForce@muskoka.on.ca.

The Muskoka Housing Task Force 2.0 (MHTF 2.0) is actively working to find solutions and make recommendations to District Council to assist with solving the housing crisis in Muskoka. The MHTF 2.0 has discussed head leases as a potential option to contribute to the development of affordable housing, and the District is seeking to explore this model further. This is part of our broader commitment to creating Housing for Everyone in Muskoka.

What is a head lease?

A head lease is a commercial leasing agreement between a landlord and a tenant (also called a head tenant or lessee) where the head tenant is given the right to sublease the premises to subtenants. The head tenant remains contractually responsible for the obligations in the head lease, even if parts of the property are subleased.

How can head leases help increase affordable housing?

In the context of affordable housing, the District could enter into a head lease for part or all of a building at a set rent and then could rent the units to individuals and households at lower/subsidized rents as a way to create affordable units.

What is the District looking to accomplish?

The District is in the preliminary stages of exploring potential head lease arrangements and has released a Request for Information (RFI) soliciting input from the development community on potential models, structures, and criteria for head lease arrangements that could work for them. The information received is intended to inform a further future procurement process (i.e. a Request for Proposals). Through this future RFP, the District hopes to provide an opportunity to develop head lease arrangement(s) in Muskoka that are reasonable and customized to suit the region’s rental market and to provide greater access to affordable and attainable stock for low-to-moderate income households.

How can the RFI be accessed and when is the submission deadline?

The RFI has been posted today to Biddingo and the District's website. The deadline to submit a response is September 15, 2025 at 12:00 Noon local time.

Help spread the word!

If you know of a developer who might be interested in contributing to the discussion on head leases, please share this opportunity with them.

Thank you for being part of the efforts to expand housing options in Muskoka, and for supporting Housing for Everyone.

Are you a housing provider, community-based organization, or developer looking to overcome barriers to affordable housing?

Are you a company offering innovative solutions for affordable housing?

Have you heard of groundbreaking ideas that could contribute to affordable housing that you think should be shared more widely?

If you fall into one or more of these categories, you are invited to join the Muskoka Housing Task Force 2.0 at the Affordable/Attainable Housing Service Swap and Talk coming up on Friday, November 22, 2024.

The Task Force is hosting this morning of connection, networking, learning, and discovery with the goal of bringing together like-minded organizations, businesses, and non-profits who want to move the dial on affordable and attainable housing in Muskoka.

The event will feature an engaging keynote speaker, organizational “pitches” about unique barriers or solutions, and opportunities for networking and learning more about challenges and opportunities related to affordable housing.

Our goal is to connect organizations facing barriers with organizations offering solutions to get more affordable housing projects off the ground! We hope to spark discussions about what we can do differently to solve the housing crisis and to form partnerships among community stakeholders working toward the same goals.

The Details:

• When: Friday, November 22, 2024 (National Housing Day!)
• Time: 8 am – Noon
• Where: Port Carling Community Centre (3 Bailey Street, Unit 1, Port Carling)
• Breakfast: Will be provided.

If you are interested in joining the event, please complete the registration form at the link below:

Please note: This event is designed specifically for professionals, organizations, and individuals in the housing sector with expertise, experience, or insights to share on affordable housing. Our goal is to create a focused space for discussing new ideas, building connections, and forming partnerships to help move affordable housing projects forward in our communities.

Register Here

If you have questions, please contact HousingTaskForce@muskoka.on.ca.

We are excited to share some important progress with our community as we continue our work to support the creation and maintenance of affordable and attainable housing in Muskoka.

Improvements to the Muskoka Affordable Housing Initiatives Program (MAHIP) - Capital Incentive Program

Earlier this year, the Task Force provided input and recommendations to enhance the District’s Capital Incentive Program, which is aimed at boosting the development of rental housing in Muskoka. This program offers funding for additional residential units and multi-residential rental units.

Our recommendations included changes to the application window, application evaluation, forgiveness period, and updates to uphold program integrity. These recommendations were supported by Muskoka District Council and became effective this past spring. The District has received a significant number of applications, and the program has almost reached capacity. This means more affordable units are becoming available to those who need them most.

The Big Move on Housing

The District has endorsed the ambitious "Big Move on Housing" plan, with a significant investment of $29.750M-$35.125M over 5 years to accelerate attainable housing initiatives. There are 3 focus areas of the plan which include:

1. Deepest Need: Addressing chronic homelessness and housing waitlists.
2. Attainable Market-Based Housing: Expanding supply of affordable rental units.
3. Capacity Building: Growing the workforce, technology, and production capacity for building housing in Muskoka

Recently, our focus has been on Capacity Building within The Big Move. We've invited stakeholders to our monthly meetings to present partnership opportunities and that can help create more homes in Muskoka. Through these presentations, we are discovering new technologies and local partnerships that can accelerate the construction of houses in our community. This valuable information will guide our recommendations to support future investments and partnership opportunities.

Education

What do terms like attainable housing, affordable housing, and the housing continuum mean? One area of focus in our mandate is Information Sharing and Outreach. We’re working on tools and resources that will be available this fall to help you stay engaged in the conversation about Housing for Everyone. These resources will help you have informed discussions that can make a difference in our community.

Next Steps

We're committed to keeping you updated on our progress. We ask that you share this update with your family, friends and community. Let them know they can subscribe to our MHTF 2.0 page to receive updates and information on our action towards housing for everyone in Muskoka.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments as we work together to make Muskoka a place where everyone has a home.

The Muskoka Housing Task Force 2.0 (MHTF 2.0) is a dynamic group of community members, Municipal Councillors, and staff from the District and Muskoka’s Area Municipalities who are dedicated to supporting the creation and maintenance of affordable and attainable housing in Muskoka. We are your neighbours, your community representatives, and your advocates for housing solutions.

The MHTF 2.0 functions as an advisory body to the District and explores and recommends strategies and opportunities for a range of housing options across Muskoka. We recognize that solving the housing crisis will take multi-levels of government and community wide efforts - we cannot do this alone. Our role is to advocate and drive forward changes collaboratively. We believe in a community that includes housing for everyone.

What We’ve Accomplished?

The Task Force has met 3 times since its relaunch in September 2023. Since that time we have worked to prioritize the investigation and pursuit of several key initiatives for the short term, including but not limited to:

1. Secondary Suites (now being referred to as Additional Residential Units);
2. Municipal Tools and Incentives; and
3. Land Trusts.

In addition to achieving consensus on key short-term priorities, the MHTF 2.0 has committed to learning as a group. We have had an invited presentation from the Muskoka Community Land Trust, and we have developed an understanding of the great work that was accomplished by our MHTF 1.0 predecessors and the work that has been done by Area Municipalities and the District to advance those initiatives.

What’s Next?

The Task Force is now in the process of developing recommendations to Council on enhancements to a key District housing program – more to follow on this when program changes are finalized!

The MHTF 2.0 is looking forward to its next meeting on February 29, 2024, and is committed to keeping our community updated on our work!

Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 (Muskoka, ON) The inaugural meeting of the Muskoka Housing Task Force 2.0 took place last Thursday, September 28^th at the District of Muskoka Administration Office in Bracebridge, and welcomed a refreshed membership of community members, stakeholders, Municipal staff, and elected officials who will work together to support the creation and maintenance of affordable and attainable housing in Muskoka.

“The energy in the room couldn’t be beat,” said Housing Task Force Chair Peter Kelley. “Our new membership brings a wealth of lived experience, expertise and passion that will drive forward the recommendations of the Muskoka Housing Task Force 1.0. It is abundantly clear that this Task Force is committed to identifying real solutions that will address the housing crisis here in Muskoka, and we are eager to share our story and progress with our community as it unfolds”.

What’s Next?

• Task Force members are working to prioritize a list of short-term projects that will work to quickly increase availability of Muskoka’s affordable housing stock.
• While not exclusive, potential projects discussed at the meeting include further exploration of head leases, secondary suites, vacant building inventory, development/developers concierge service and fast-tracking affordable housing development applications.

Stay Engaged

We invite the Muskoka community to actively stay informed and follow Task Force updates by visiting the Muskoka Housing Task Force 2.0 project page on Engage Muskoka at: https://www.engagemuskoka.ca/muskoka-housing-task-force. Here, you can also sign up to receive Task Force updates right to your inbox.

Task force updates will also be shared with the community via the District’s social media channels.

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Investing in housing solutions for Muskoka. It’s what we do.

The District of Muskoka is made up of six area municipalities and is responsible for delivering critical public services and programs to residents in our community. Visit our website at www.muskoka.on.ca

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Recruitment is currently underway for community representatives to join the Muskoka Housing Task Force (MHTF). We are looking for members who have a demonstrated commitment to affordable housing in Muskoka.

MHTF 2.0 members will need to have the ability to dedicate a significant amount of time to implementing the creative ideas and to build on the work done by their predecessors, with a focus on taking action to move the projects into the next phase. While there are a limited number of seats on the MHTF 2.0 for community members, there will be many exciting opportunities for passionate community members and advocates to engage in other capacities.

If you are interested in joining the MHTF 2.0, please apply by Friday, June 30, 2023 at the following link:

APPLY NOW