May 25, 2026 — City of Burlington

The City of Burlington has received an additional $2,112,000 from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) to help further address housing challenges in the city.

Burlington qualified for the additional funding mainly due to its agreement to support the CMHC catalogue and new residential zoning bylaw. The new zoning bylaw expands permissions for a range of low-rise “missing middle” housing, such as Additional Residential Units (ARUs) and townhouse units.

With ongoing investments from the CMHC, a key goal for the City has been to support local property owners and housing providers in building new rental, affordable and missing middle housing and has undertaken a number of strategies, including its:

  • New Zoning Bylaw – Phase 1 of Burlington’s New Zoning Bylaw Project is complete, creating a new Residential Zoning Bylaw that will provide a set of rules for land use planning and development across Burlington residential areas. The new bylaw makes the rules easy to use, reflects modern zoning practices, streamlines development approvals and implements the objectives and policies of the new Official Plan (Burlington Official Plan, 2020). The new Zoning Bylaw will be done in phases, with Phase 1 focused on supporting more housing options in Burlington neighbourhoods.
  • Housing Connections Centre – The online centre provides residents and developers with resources such as standard unit designs with:
    • An interactive look-up tool that helps property owners determine whether their property may be suitable for a detached Additional Residential Unit (ARU).
    • Garage conversions resource kit
    • CMHC design catalogue
      The catalogue provides pre-approved housing designs that meet zoning bylaws and Ontario Building Codes. This allows for faster zoning approval and building permits. The City will use the additional CMHC funding to review the CMHC designs to allow for quicker approvals.
    • Connections to partners, incentives and more information about the benefits of diverse neighbourhoods and how creating new housing can provide options for all Burlington residents.

As Burlington continues to grow, working with community partners, landowners and developers to support the City’s Housing Strategy will continue to be a priority. The City’s ongoing focus is to support the development of complete, low-carbon, climate-resilient communities that are affordable, inclusive, equitable and diverse. This will encourage a range and mix of housing in the city, including the ‘missing middle’.

By the end of 2026, the City is targeting 66 new units for approval as part of the City’s HAF initiative.

For more information, visit burlington.ca/HAF.