Windsor's mayor says that while developers are waiting for action from governments to make building affordable homes feasible, the City of Windsor is examining its development fees.
Drew Dilkens used his strong mayor powers to direct city staff to investigate the possibility of exempting development fees for multi-unit rental housing.
A report on the feasibility of removing some or all of those fees for those projects will be presented to City Council in April.
Dilkens directive said if the city goes ahead with an exemption, it'll be applied to projects this year across the city. The only exception would be in the Sandwich South planning district.
His notice to city staff says the primary path to lowering the cost of housing is to increase supply. It will also help the city meet its goals to increase housing, as laid down by the Province of Ontario.
Windsor received $5.2-million through the Building Faster Fund in 2025.
However, inflation and economic uncertainty with U.S. tariffs have made building even more difficult.
"Unfortunately, in today's economic climate, the cost of land, labour, and building materials makes construction of affordable homes almost impossible without government intervention," said the directive.
