New building act moves further away from municipal controls
Posted March 31, 2026
The Ontario government continues to reshape residential development policies with the introduction of new legislation that would impose mandatory timelines on planning approvals, limit municipal fees and expand permissions for residential construction.
The Building Homes, Fighting Delays, and Reducing Costs Act, 2026, would require municipalities to make decisions on development applications within prescribed timeframes and follow standardized submission requirements set by the province.
The bill sets out specific changes to the planning process, including:
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Requiring municipalities to approve or refuse site plan and subdivision applications within fixed timelines;
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Standardizing application requirements across Ontario, limiting the types of studies municipalities can request;
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Prohibiting or restricting studies related to market demand, population forecasts and other analyses where provincial data is deemed sufficient;
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Exempting certain residential developments from site plan control;
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Limiting municipal authority over exterior design features of new housing developments.
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The legislation also narrows the scope of development charges by restricting which infrastructure and associated studies can be funded through those fees.
Under the proposed changes, municipalities would not be able to recover the full cost of some growth-related services through development charges, requiring alternative funding sources for infrastructure such as roads, water systems and emergency services.
Yesterday, federal and provincial governments announced a joint $8.8 billion funding program over 10 years to support infrastructure and enable municipalities to reduce development charges by up to 50 per cent.
In New Tecumseth, fully serviced residential DCs total $111,560. Of that, $90,502 is municipal; $14,975, County; and $6,083, education.
The combined effect of the directive and the proposed legislation would change how those costs are recovered and how development applications are processed.
The bill also expands “as-of-right” zoning provisions, allowing additional residential units and higher-density housing forms to proceed without zoning bylaw amendments where provincial criteria are met.
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