Rapid Housing Initiative

NHS RHI 3 Webinar

00:00 – 00:02:46

[Audio silence – Awaiting start of presentation]

00:02:46

[Speaker: Mark Stewart  – Specialist, CMHC]

[Visual: PowerPoint slide titled “Rapid Housing Initiative, Overview Session. Decorative photograph of multi-unit dwelling. National Housing Strategy and CMHC logos and Canada wordmark appear.]

Hi everyone. Welcome to our session today and thank you for taking the time to join us.

My name is Mark Stewart and I'll be facilitating today's session.

Uh, before we begin just a few things to go over. This session that you're attending today is an overview of the Rapid Housing Initiative round three.

This is a one-hour session consisting of a 30-minute presentation and a 30-minute question and answer period.

During the presentation period, participants are encouraged to write and submit their questions in the chat. As this is a Microsoft Teams live Broadcast, all questions will be posted for the audience's view as they are answered during the Q&A a period. As a reminder, questions of a general nature on the initiative will be our main focus today. We anticipate that we are going to receive many questions during this session and we're going to try our very best to get through as many as possible during the Q&A period.

Today's session is going to be recorded and you can access the recording by returning to and clicking on the link that you do to join today's session.

The session will also be added to our CMHC website just on the Rapid Housing Initiative page.

And before we begin, as an Ottawa resident I want to acknowledge that the land on which we gather today is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg People. The Algonquin Peoples have lived on this land since time immemorial. We are grateful to create, collaborate, and live on this land. I have gratitude for this land, and respect and appreciation for its many generations of caretakers. In our virtual world, it is important to recognize that even though we may come from different communities and backgrounds we are all connected through traditions, values and the history of our ancestors. So please take a moment to reflect on the good things that the land in which you're joining us has brought to you. As an individual, I commit to learning the history of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples as we move forward together in peace and friendship.

I would like to now introduce our presenters Darryl Mcdonald and Kelly Cutro. Darryl is a specialist and Kelly is an advisor, both here at CMHC, part of our Rapid Housing team. So over to you Darryl.

00:05:17

[Speaker: Daryl Mcdonald – Specialist, CMHC]

Thank you, Mark. Welcome everyone.

The objective for today's session is to provide everyone upon completion that participants will have gained a base-level knowledge of the Rapid Housing Initiative and its important new details.

00:05:37

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the session objective, written in text on plain background.]

Okay.

00:05:48

[Visual: PowerPoint briefly transitions to slide outlining the webinar agenda then flashes back to previous slide outlining objective.]

We'll talk about the agenda.

The agenda will include an overview. We'll discuss the initiative objective, provide details on the targets as well as detail with the important updates to round three of the RHI have been. We'll speak to key dates. Review the eligibility requirements. Go over prioritization criteria. We'll talk about resources that we have available and as Mark indicated there will be a question period at the end of the presentation.

00:06:30

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the webinar agenda.]

00:06:45

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the Rapid Housing Initiative RHI3. Graphic showing that $1.5 billion in funding expected to be committed prior to March 31, 2024.]

Okay the government of Canada through CMHC is extending the Rapid Housing Initiative with an additional $1.5 billion to help address the urgent housing needs of vulnerable Canadians by rapidly creating new affordable housing units.

Funding is expected to be fully committed by March 31^st, 2024.

RHI will be available to municipalities, provinces, territories, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations and non-profit organizations.

00:07:26

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the overview of RHI3 and depicts that of total $4 Billion in funding the additional capital contribution of S1.5 billion is expected to create an additional 4,500 new units.]

The $2.5-billion RHI funding advanced in the previous rounds is contributing to the rapid creation of over 10 000 new permanent affordable housing units for people in severe housing need. The additional $1.5 billion funding for RHI 3 is expected to create an additional 4,500 new units.

All three phases of RHI will total  an investment of 4 billion dollars and it's expected to generate 14,500 new units in total.

00:08:01

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the three purposes of funding including new construction, conversion of non-residential buildings, and rehabilitation of buildings to add to affordable housing stock.]

The purposes of funding for the program do include new construction of multi-unit residential housing, sorry, rental housing projects, which may include the acquisition of land to support the acquisition and conversion of non-residential building to an affordable rental project. And to support the acquisition of an existing building in a state of disrepair or abandoned for the purpose of rehabilitation where units were previously lost from the housing stock.

It's important to note that properties  that require evictions of tenants are not eligible for funding under RHI and also the acquisition of existing residential buildings for the purpose of rehab is only permitted when the units are abandoned or disrepaired to the point where they are vacant and have been lost to the residential stock.

This initiative must result in net new housing units. Renovictions are not permitted.

00:08:57

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the Cities and Project funding streams. Slide includes two decorative images of Canadian enjoying their home environment.]

There are two funding streams for RHI.

First being the Cities stream. The allocation expected number of units for selected cities will be announced after agreements with cities are signed. And the Project stream. Eligible proponents include  Provinces, territories, and municipalities, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations, non-profit housing organizations.

For the Cities stream, cities will be informed in an introductory letter of the expected number of units based on the level of funding it's allocated and estimated market costs in the area.

Cities will be required to submit proposed projects through CMHC's online portal.

For the Project stream, applicants must send their application through the CMHC portal, which includes their self-assessment of the project's social outcomes.

Some important notes to remember if the proponent is a First Nation, Inuit government or Métis government, the application will be assessed as an Indigenous governing body and our agreements will be with the Indigenous government.

For RHI, non-profits owned by another level of government are equivalent to a government, And also if the proponent's an Indigenous organization that's not directly linked to the governing nation, in that case, it's likely registered as a non-profit. It would be considered a non-profit and be required to submit with that criteria.

00:10:28

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the details of funding streams RHI 1, 2 and 3.]

Initiative originally launched in October 2020 with a budget of $1 billion divided equally between two streams. There were $500 million allocated to the 15 predetermined cities for the Major Cities stream and that allocation was based on the severity of housing need for those communities.

And then the Project stream also had $500 million in an open intake window application process.

RHI 2 launched in June 2021 with a budget of $1.5 billion.

Cities stream allocation again was $500 million and, in this case, there were 30 predetermined cities based on severity of housing need. In the Projects stream, projects that were not selected under RHI were eligible for update and resubmission in a closed intake window.

RHI 3 is launching December 2022 and the $1.5 billion funding will again be divided into two streams: the Cities stream and the Projects stream.

$500 million again is allocated to the Cities stream to 41 predetermined Municipalities and a total of $1 billion will be available in the Projects stream via an open Application-based process.

0:11:47

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the initiative objective – to create new, permanent housing units supporting vulnerable Canadians and those prioritized under the National Housing Strategy (NHS).]

The initiative’s objective to quickly create new permanent affordable housing units that support Canadians who are vulnerable and prioritized under the  National Housing strategy.

00:12:02

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the units target of the initiative. The creation of 4,500 new units for vulnerable Canadians targeted under the NHS who are in severe housing need or at imminent risk of homelessness. Slide includes one decorative image of Canadian enjoying their home environment.]

This next round of RHI funding is 221 expected to create an additional 4,500 new permanent affordable housing units to support people more vulnerable and prioritized the National Housing Strategy and experiencing severe housing need.

00:12:20

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the funding target of the initiative. 25% of investment to women and/or women and their children. Slide includes two decorative images of a mother and child.]

At least 25% of the funding will be going toward women-focused housing projects.

00:12:29

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the population targets of the initiative including households in severe housing need and vulnerable people and population targeted under the NHS. Slide includes two decorative images of Canadian enjoying their home environment.]

In all affordable units must be dedicated to vulnerable populations targeted under the National Housing  Strategy.

These population groups include women and children fleeing violence, seniors, young adults, Indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, people dealing with mental health and addiction issues, veterans, LGBTQ positive, racialized groups including Black Canadians, recent immigrants, especially refugees, and people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness.

00:13:11

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide titled Did You Know? Content outlines that a household in severe housing need spends 50% or more of before-tax income on their dwelling or that housing falls below adequacy, affordability or sustainability standards.]

It's important to note that a household in severe housing need spends 50% or more before-tax income for their current dwelling and its housing falls below adequacy, affordability or suitability standards.

 00:13:31

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the priority people and populations including black Canadians, women and/or women with their children and Indigenous Peoples.]

Additional priority will be given to projects serving women and children, Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians.

At least 25% of the funding will go towards units which target women and/or women and their children. There will be a focus on supporting projects from Indigenous-led organizations with units for Indigenous peoples and for projects that include units targeted to Black Canadians.

 00:14:00

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide depicting icons representing four important updates to the initiative including: 90-day open application window, 18 month extended completion deadlines (24 months for those in the North or special access communities), additional points for projects location in the North or for new RHI applicants and, incremental opportunities for cost sharing.]

So, we'll review some important updates to the initiative for this round of funding.

There will be a 90-day open application window. The project completion timelines have been extended up to 18 months for projects with regular access.

Projects in the North, remote and special access communities’ timeline for completion has been extended to 24 months. As well, projects in North will gain additional five points in the North comprised of the three territories: Yukon, Northwest Territory, Nunavut.

As well, proponents who have not benefited from funding in the previous rounds as either recipients or beneficiaries are eligible for initial five points.

There are also additional incremental scoring opportunities for cost-sharing but [with]the goal of creating 4,500 new units, we're encouraging applicants to bring as much additional funding to the table as possible.

As well, there are some updated requirements for non-profit applicants, including requirement for being registered and operating as a not-for-profit for a minimum of five years and to provide their previous four years audited financial statements.

00:15:18

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the key dates including opening of application portal (December 12, 2022), closing of application window (March 15, 2023) and deadline to commit funds (March 31, 2024).]

Key dates for the program. December 12^th the application portal will open and it will remain open for 90 days.  That application window will close arch 15^th, 2023, and all funds are to be committed by March 31^st, 2024.

00:15:42

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the summary of nine eligibility criteria that are detailed on subsequent slides. One decorative image depicts multi-unit dwelling.]

So now I'll pass this on to my colleague, Kelly Cutro.

00:15:48

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro – Advisor, CMHC]

Hello everyone.

For the eligibility criteria, we will go over the eligibility criteria, including the minimum requirements, the affordability definition, the differences between the Cities stream and Projects stream as it pertains to the energy efficiency and accessibility requirements, the eligible proponent types, property and project types, as well as the eligible costs and cost-sharing timelines.

00:16:17,360

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining description of affordability eligibility including, affordability maintenance of 20 years and affordability  (less than 30% of gross income of those targeted vs. current 50% or more.)]

For the affordability, affordability must be maintained for a minimum of 20 years. All units must serve and be affordable, the household is paying less than 30 per cent of gross income on housing costs, or the shelter components of any provincial or territorial income assistance program as an equivalent to targeted people and populations who are vulnerable and who are or otherwise would be in severe housing needs or people experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.

The household in severe housing needs pays 50 per cent or more for their current dwelling and is a subset of core housing need households.

The household is set to be in core housing need if its housing falls below at least one of the adequacy, affordability or suitability standards and it would have to spend 30 per cent or more of its total before-tax income to pay the medium rent of alternative local housing that is acceptable, thereby meeting the three housing standards.

Homelessness is described as a situation of an individual, a family or a community without safe, stable, permanent, appropriate housing or the immediate prospects or means and ability of acquiring it.

Populations at imminent risk of homelessness is defined as individuals or families whose current housing situation will end in the near future, for example within two months, and for whom no subsequent residence has been established.

00:17:51

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the accessibility eligibility including those exceeding accessibility requirements by 5% or more in Cities Stream and new construction projects exceeding jurisdictional requirements in the Projects Stream.]

Let's go over the accessibility requirements.

 For the Cities stream, new construction projects must exceed the local accessibility requirements by at least five per cent.

 Under the Projects stream, there is no minimum criteria, however, priority will be given to projects that exceed the local or regional accessibility requirements within their jurisdictions.

00:18:18,539

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the energy efficiency eligibility. Both Cities and Projects streams must meet or exceed the 207 National Enter code for Part 3 building or the 2015 National Building Code for Part 9 buildings.]

As for the energy efficiency, under the Cities stream, new construction projects must meet the energy efficiency Standards. Now, those standards are either the 2017 National Energy Code for Buildings, the NECB, if the building forms part of the Part 3 buildings, or it's the 2015 National Building Code for buildings forming part of the Part 9 buildings.

As it pertains to the Projects stream, again, no minimum criteria, however, priority will be given to projects exceeding the energy standards of either of those codes depending on the size of the building.

Let's go over the eligible proponents.

 00:19:05,039

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the proponent eligibility showing non-profit housing, provinces, territories and municipalities and, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations. One decorative image depicts the signing of a contract.]

Eligible proponent types include non-profit housing organizations, provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous governing bodies and organizations.

Note that an Indigenous governing body, if the proponent is a First Nation, Inuit government or Métis government, the application will be assessed as an Indigenous governing body and our agreements will be with the Indigenous government. For RHI, government-owned non-profits are the equivalent to a government.

Indigenous organizations. If the proponent is an Indigenous organization not directly linked to the governing nations, it is considered a non-profit.

Non-profits and Indigenous organizations not wholly owned by a level of government must demonstrate that they've been operating for a minimum of five years and have five years demonstrated experience operating a housing project of similar type, size as the proposed project with similar tendency.

00:20:09

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the property type eligibility including standard rentals, residential portion of mixed-use property, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, single room occupancy and light/no-care seniors housing.]

Property types.

Property types include…eligible property types include standard rentals, mixed-use is eligible with the caveat that CMHC will not fund non-residential costs.

Transitional housing provided that the tenancy is for at least three months at a time.

Permanent supportive housing

Single room occupancy also known as SROs  and seniors housing that requires light to no care, such as independent seniors living.

Note that housing must be permanent in nature to qualify. Temporary accommodations, where tenancy is limited to a predetermined period of time of three months or less, such as shelters, are ineligible.

In addition to shelters, other ineligible property types include student housing, equity co-ops, homeownership or mixed tenure and seniors housing with a primary focus on the delivery of health care.

00:21:15   

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining the eligible costs. Slide outlines difference between costs for funding purposes and for cost sharing. Slide notes that cost must be directly related to residential construction, rehabilitation or conversion of the project and cannot cover operational expenses or support services.]

Let's look at eligible costs.

Costs must be directly related to the  residential construction, conversion or rehabilitation of the Project.

RHI cannot cover operational expenses nor can it cover support services. Eligible costs for funding purposes must be incurred from December the 1^st, 2022, onwards.

Eligible expenses incurred between April the 1^st, 2020, and November the 30^th, 2022, can be considered in cost-sharing.

Some examples of eligible expenses include land acquisition, pre-development costs, hard and soft costs, infrastructure expenses   within the boundaries of the project – land only.

The cost of non-residential space is not eligible for the funding under RHI.

If the project has mixed-use, costs attributed to the non-residential space must be paid by the proponent's equity and cannot be covered by a repayable loan or any other debt.

00:22:29  

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining cost sharing specifics including that cost-sharing can maximize scoring, is acceptable from other levels of government (assuming a legal agreement) and that loans are not an approved source of funding.]

Cost-sharing.

The RHI application must identify all other funding sources for a hundred per cent of the project costs. No gaps in funding are permitted and would render the application ineligible.

Cost-sharing sources are additional sources of capital contributions or equity contributions, grants, waivers, as examples, that reduce the amount of RHI funding required. Eligible expenses incurred and paid  between April the 1^st, 2020, and December the 1^st, 2022, can count as cost-sharing.

Greater priority will be given to projects with higher percentages of cost-sharing.

Please note that loans are not an acceptable source of cost-sharing and are not permitted nor are encumbrance on title.

Non-profits claiming cost-sharing scores must provide confirmation of approved sources at time of application. Government entities, however, are not required to provide confirmation.

Additional details on documentation requirements will be detailed in the program resource material.

00:23:43

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide outlining timeline of project cost eligibility which runs between April 1, 202 and December 1 2022.]

This chart further demonstrates the eligible dates for project costs eligible for funding and for cost- sharing.

Eligible expenses incurred and paid between April the 1st of 2020 and December the 1st of 2022 can count as cost-sharing.

Project costs incurred prior to April the 1st 2020 cannot be used for cost sharing nor can they be funded.

Eligible costs incurred on or after December the 1st 2022 can be funded or Cost-shared, however, it cannot be both.

00:24:27

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide depicting icons representing the types of priority applications including: need, subsidy duration, cost sharing, expediency affordability, land people and populations, energy efficiency, accessibility and new applicants.]

How are applications prioritized under the Projects stream?

Applications are prioritized based on 10 criteria. The level of need, the severe housing need.

Confirmation of operational land or subsidies, support subsidies The level of cost-sharing, which may reduce the amount of RHI funding required. The expediency of delivery where the completion and/or the occupancy can  further expedited. The duration of affordability if it exceeds 20 years. The land status of readiness. Units targeting Indigenous peoples, Black Canadians and women and their children. Energy efficiency. Accessibility. And new applicants that have not received prior RHI funding as either recipients or beneficiaries.

Let's go over each of them in more detail.

00:25:28

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide depicting icons representing need and subsidy duration application priorities.]

The need score will be allocated by CMHC during the assessment period and is based on the percentage of households in severe housing need relative to the national total.

For subsidy, note that applicants that are government entities are expected to cover operating and support wraparound services, when applicable, for a minimum of 20 years or the duration of the commitment of affordability, whichever is higher.

Non-profit applicants that have confirmed operating and support subsidies from another level of government must provide confirmation with the application.

Where subsidies are not available from another level of government, a not-for-profit must be able to demonstrate that they have the capacity to support the units without the government's subsidy, thereby self-subsidize.

00:26:21

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide depicting icons representing cost sharing and expediency application priorities.]

By sharing an expediency to maximize the outcomes of RHI, projects will be prioritized based on contributions towards cost-sharing. There are incremental levels of cost- sharing scoring as cost-sharing increases in value.

For expediency for construction and  occupancy, there are incremental scoring levels for those that can complete the units faster than the 18 months or 24 months in the North, remote or special access communities and for rapid occupancy where at least 25 per cent of the units are ready for occupancy faster than those timelines.

The time frames for completion and occupancy must coincide with the RHI construction and development schedule being submitted with the application.

00:27:10

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide depicting icons representing land and affordability, energy efficiency and accessibility application priorities.]

Land, affordability, energy efficiency and accessibility and tenure can be secured in for in fee simple or freehold under an agreement of purchase and sale, leasehold or not secured.

Projects that have land that is already secured by the applicant gain the greatest prioritization scoring.

Leases must be for at least 20 years in duration or the duration of the affordability, whichever is longest.

For acquisitions, it is highly recommended that the closing date of the purchase and sale agreement be at least six months beyond the December 2022 window opening for government  and nine months for non-profits to ensure those offers do not lapse before decisions can be made, agreements signed and projects eligible for disbursements.

Please remember that title must be Unencumbered.

Only financial income…Only non-financial Encumbrances, such as easements or registrations from other levels of government restricting the use of the asset to affordable housing or registrations relating to grants, subsidies will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Longer periods of affordability commitments that go beyond the 20 years will be incentivized as will be greater energy efficiencies and accessibility.

00:28:39

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide depicting icons representing people and population and new applicant application priorities.]

People and populations and new applicants projects targeting at least 25 per cent of units to Indigenous peoples, Black Canadians, and women and/or women and their children will avail themselves of prioritization points.

Proponents whom have neither been recipients nor beneficiaries of previous RHI funding are eligible for an additional five points.

This includes previous funding from either the Cities or Projects stream.

00:29:11

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to text slide outlining the types of key documentation including that for both government and non-government entities and that for non-government entities only.]

Let's now go over the key documentation required.

RHI has designed its application process and documentation requirements to create a simple and a streamlined process as possible.

The list includes and the supplies for both government and non-government entities, the construction schedule.

Applying only to non-government entities  is the following: the confirmation of the property management and construction experience, corporate documents, instruction schedule, the confirmation of operational and capital funding, the confirmation of program support and other supports were applicable, the confirmation that the land is secured, zoned, has Municipal approvals and cost estimates.

Please note that we will require a class B cost estimate reviewed by a PQS, a professional quantity surveyor, and the environmental site assessments and a copy of any registered encumbrances or agreements on title.

00:30:18

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to text slide outlining monitoring, reporting and compliance – conducted quarterly, until project completion, and annually for 20+ years after project completion and occupation.]

Monitoring, reporting and compliance.

Monitoring and reporting will be conducted via attestations that are made quarterly during the construction phase to report on the progress of construction.

After the project completion, attestations will be required annually for the full term of the agreement to ensure projects continue to remain affordable and continue to serve the vulnerable populations.

00:30:49

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to text slide indicating additional resources including the CMHC Rapid Housing website (www.cmhc-schol.gc.ca/en/hhs/rapid-housing-initiative) and the National Housing Strategy website (www.placetocallhome.ca ).]

Available resources.

CMHC's Rapid Housing website as well as the National Housing Strategy Website.

We will now open it up to questions.

00:31:07

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

[Visual: PowerPoint transitions to slide titled Questions. Three decorative images depict construction, building and occupation phases of Canadian home ownership. National Housing Strategy and CMHC logos and Canada wordmark appear.]

Thank you so much for the presentation Kelly and Darryl.

Like Kelly mentioned the question and answer period is about to begin and for this part of the session we're going to have a few more of our colleagues join us.

Philippe Cloutier, Senior Manager of the Rapid Housing Initiative, Judy Binder, Advisor for the Rapid Housing Initiative and Mathieu Manton, Senior Specialist, Government Relations for Rapid Housing Initiative. Welcome guys and let's look at our first question.

Will applications be evaluated on a rolling basis or will they be evaluated all at once upon the closure of the application period in March?

00:31:52

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier – Senior Manager, Rapid Housing Initiative, CMHC]

Thanks Mark this is Philippe Cloutier here.

Hum, so to answer that question I'll go over quickly the timelines again. So the application window will be open from December 12^th, 2022, to March 15, 2023.

Hum, from the closing of the window, the applications… every single application received that are eligible and complete will be evaluated by the team and prioritize at the end of a 90-day period of review so applicants who are eligible have and have a complete application can expect to start receiving communications from CMHC after July 1^st, 2023.

00:32:43

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you, we'll move on to our next  question. When are the agreements with cities expected to be signed and the allocations made public?

00:32:53

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton – Senior Specialist, Rapid Housing Initiative, CMHC]

Thanks Mark. This is Mathieu Manton I can take this question.

Hum, so the agreements with the cities are expected to be signed by February 15^th and the allocations will be made public via announcements, uh joint announcements between those cities and the Government of Canada shortly thereafter. We're unable to provide specific dates for when those allocations will be made public, but it won't happen until an agreement is signed.

00:33:19

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

That's created our next question. Are the cities that are predetermined published anywhere?

00:33:26

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

Yeah, I can take this one as well. Hum, so  s part of the um announcement that was made last Thursday, November 10^th, um you are able to see the news release on CMHC's website under the Media Newsroom and that will include a list of the 41 municipalities that will be receiving an application under the Cities stream.

00:33:46

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you very much, and our next question. Can one submit a project under the Cities stream and Projects stream in a situation where the value of the project exceeds a Cities stream funding?

00:33:58

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

If you’d like I could take this one as well. So important distinction here is it's generally that an application would be evaluated on its cost so where um a project under the Cities stream exceeds the cost or the cost of the project I should say, sorry, exceeds the allocation the shortfall cannot be covered under the Projects stream. This would mean a city has either the choice of finding other funding sources to cover the gap under the Cities stream or submitting on the Projects stream, which is a competitive process and is not guaranteed to receive funding.

Hum, in either case I think it's important to note that municipalities would need to meet their minimum unit requirements under the Cities stream um depending on the choice they made for that project.

00:34:44

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you, and this next one might be for you as well. Are municipal public housing agencies eligible for the Projects stream um under the third round of RHI?

00:34:57

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

I can, I can take this one Mark. This is Philippe Cloutier

Yes, so the municipal public housing agencies are eligible for the Projects Stream. So, they would be considered as a level of government if there is that tie-back with the Municipality. If there is no connection between public housing agency and the municipality then they would likely be considered a non-profit organization and the criteria applying to non-profits would apply to this organization.

00:35:33

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks Philippe.

Our next question. For  receiving the city stream does 25 per cent of the funding need to be dedicated to women's housing or is it 25 per cent of the total units created?

00:35:46

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

I can take this one. Thanks Mark. So, in  this case for the Cities stream is 25 per cent of the funding is creating projects that are targeting women.

 Hum so CMHC will measure this on a portfolio basis by calculating the percentage of units that are targeting women and applying that same percentage to the total allocation. So, units can be considered to be dedicated to women and women and children if they're specifically dedicated or either they're committed to women and women and children. So, this means that in the first case, um you know most likely only women or women and their children could inhabit it. In the second case that um this unit would not be left vacant if no woman was there um to fill it but either way there's a committed to serving that population through that 25-per-cent requirement.

00:36:34

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you very much and our  question. Is full occupancy and full operationality required and expected by the end of the 18-month timeline or is this timeline just for construction?

00:36:48

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

I can take this question. This is Kelly So complete construction completion to us means the receipt of the occupancy permit so essentially at the 18th month timeline for all projects with the exception of North, remote and special access that have the 24 months it's expected that once you complete construction that equals to us as the pro… the units being ready for occupancy,  for ready to be tenanted.

00:37:21

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you and our next question.

Do municipally submitted Projects  applications require documents beyond the three deliverables outlined in the RHI document list? I'm curious if all government applications for both Major Cities and Projects stream are exempt from needing supporting documents, such as energy modelling and class B cost estimate.

00:37:45

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

Kelly again, I can take this one as well.

So, you'll remember government entities which include municipalities, are only required to submit the construction schedule under the Projects stream so they'll be required to, of course, send the application through the Portal, but the supporting documents only include the construction schedule when it pertains to a government entity. The larger list pertains to non-profits and Indigenous organizations.

00:38:13

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks Kelly. Moving along to the  question. For the Projects stream, does the percentage of energy savings relative to reference code result in different funding amounts? What should project teams be targeting for how much to exceed the relevant reference code?

00:38:35

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, this Philip again.

I'll answer this by saying that the percentage of energy savings does not influence the amount of funding directly.

Where really the percentage and how far a project would exceed the relevant codes would have an impact on the score for that specific category, and thus impact the total score of an application and increase its competitiveness, so really resulting in the increased chances of being selected at the prioritization stage at the end of the review period. In terms of how much a project should aim to exceed that's really a decision that should remain with the team planning and preparing the  application itself, depending on what is  feasible in the context of that project.

All that that we can state is that the higher a project exceeds, the higher the score, and I will say the specifics of the scoring so the exact percentage will be available on CMHC's website  believe in the next couple days and will be available in the application portal, online portal that will be released on December 12^th.

00:40:01

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Excellent, thanks Phil. Our next question.

Does a registered charity organization fall under the non-profit category?

00:40:10

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, um yes registered charity would fall under the category for non-profit.

00:40:20

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you again.

Our next question. Can RHI cover projects that have a non-residential component if the non-residential portion is funded separately?

00:40:33

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

Hi, this is Kelly. I can answer this one.

It's actually quite interesting because  the question answers itself. So, the RHI can only fund…or funds from the RHI can only be used to cover expenses that relate to units meeting our affordability definition and, thereby, if you have non-residential component, you must pay for those costs out of your own equity, your own funds. The RHI funding cannot be used for the non-res component. I would go a step further and inform that the non-res component needs to be viable on its own as well, and we need to be able to see how the non-res component can reach a DCR of at least a 1.4.

Remember, just as a final thought, that there cannot be registrations of debt on this asset, thereby you wouldn't be able to use a loan in order to pay for the expenses related to the non-res component.

00:41:32

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you.

Hum, our next question.

If there was more than one rehabilitation project under  consideration, should we apply to the funds separately, one application per project, or combine them into one application?

00:41:49

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, I can answer this question. So,  I'll add a little bit, give a bit more nuance and detail that would apply to more than just a rehabilitation project, but generally we would expect projects to be submitted differently. If really we're talking about different timelines, we're talking about generally different addresses where a rehabilitation project or new construction project could be submitted, would be if they're in the same location, same general location, have the same score, have the same timeline and really form part of one project together. But generally, if we're talking about separate multi-residential buildings for construction, we would have them as separate, if they're in different communities, they would be separate and if the answers to the various social outcome scoring are different, we would expect a different application. More direction can be received by working directly with your Housing Solutions specialist. We have links on our website towards  right individuals for you to reach out depending on the region you're in, so I would highly recommend that if that is a question that is coming up that you discuss with your specialist.

00:43:14

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you and what percentage of the   project funding amounts can be allocated to non-residential components of the fully affordable housing project?

00:43:24

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

Hi this is Kelly. I'll take this one. So, as I was saying just earlier the RHI funding could only pay for eligible residential costs for units that meet the affordability definition. Therefore, the non-residential costs really have to come or have to be sourced from equity, grants other forms that are not loans or any repayable debt. Now I just want to go step forward and say that ancillary space that is needed for the use of the residential component can be considered in some cases as residential provided that the project is a firstly residential in purpose. And by ancillary space, there are certain project types that will require offices for support staff coming in, uh that will require maybe um just a shared space. If it's space that's ancillary to the residential to, the functioning of the residential units, we may be able to consider it residential, but the project needs to be residential primarily. Anything that is a non-res is not eligible for funding with the RHI funding.

00:44:38

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks Kelly. And our next question can the funding be stacked with the Co-investment Fund?

00:44:47

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark. Philippe again. I'll start off by mentioning that RHI cannot…RHI funds cannot cover costs overruns of ongoing co-investment projects.

There is a possibility for projects that have not started construction to actually stack the two, but I will add the caveat that the timelines of the two initiatives need to match, and we know that we are under very accelerated timelines for RHI and that there is a different level of requirements for the Co-investment Fund. So, it would really depend on if the timelines of the funding for the two can match up so we don't we wouldn't recommend it as a first approach, but it may be possible in exceptional cases.

00:45:46

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you.

Our next question. Can you clarify PSA closing date and what is meant by beyond the application window opening?

00:45:57

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

Hi this is Kelly. I'll take this one on.

What we mean by beyond the application window opening is once the application window opens,  then those applications start to come in and if you are a not-for-profit, as an example, and you were acquiring a parcel of land and you have a purchase and sale agreement currently between your hands, you need to make sure that from the time that you submit your application that, in the case of government entities, that purchase and sale agreement survives at least for an additional six months before it lapses. And in the case of a not-for-profit, the purchase and sale agreement, the terms don't come to an expiry, don't expire within at least nine months, and those are give and take timelines. And essentially what we meant what we mean to flag with those timelines is that the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, once they Lapse, they can very well come into renegotiation.

Once you send in your application and the application window closes, there are no changes to the applications anymore. So, if there would be an increase to the purchase price, as an example, you would end up with a gap. You'd have to finance that gap out of your own equity. So we're flagging that the purchase and sale agreements really the terms of them should be looked at closely to make sure that they are extended far enough along that you have sufficient time for the windows to close, for us to be able to do our assessments, um get back to you and let you know whether we've been able to approve or not the application, enter into an agreement and that the project become eligible for disbursement.

00:47:41

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks Kelly. Our next question.

Do you have a dollar-per-unit range and is that being used to prioritize projects?

00:47:52

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

I'll take this one as well this is Kelly again.

Do we have a range? Well each market has Range, because the cost per door is really market-dependent and so I'll bring you back to the 4,500 units and I'll bring you back to the reason why cost-sharing is being prioritized heavily and why cost-sharing is a means of us being able to reach that 4, 500-unit range. And so, when we receive the applications, absolutely, we'll be taking a look at the market that the app that the proposed building is going to be built in, and we'll take a look at what the average per door costs of that market are using our other products and what we've seen as far as other applications that have been submitted in the same market. Do we have a range? Well, the range really is market- dependent and what makes sense in those markets, bearing in mind the 4,500-unit target. We need to make sure that we  keep that first and foremost on our minds and that is key to why the prioritization of cost-sharing is so important.

00:49:03

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you again.

Our next question. As a non-profit organization partnering with a city on an application, will we need to submit separate applications?

00:49:14

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

Hey Mark, it's Matthew I can take this one. So, if it's a non-profit organization that's partnering with the city as an intermediary under the Cities stream, the city will be responsible for submitting that application. If it's if it's non-profit organization partnering with the city under the Projects stream, there's a decision to be made in terms of who would be submitting that application, but bear in mind that the non-profits versus a government entity have different requirements in terms of documentation and there could be, there could be a conversation to be had there.

I would say in all cases we'd like to avoid duplicate applications so there's really important to have a conversation with the city to determine who will be submitting that application of the Projects stream.

00:49:57

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you very much. Our next question. Is the same scoring methodology used for both Cities and Projects streams?

00:50:06

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

Hey Mark, it’s Matt, I can take this one as well.

So, under the Cities stream, um we're only needing to meet minimum requirements in terms of all the criteria that Kelly and Darryl um mentioned earlier versus the Projects stream is where that methodology and the scoring comes into play. So, there is a little bit of a different approach based on the stream.

00:50:27

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you again.

Moving along to our next question. Does the 18-month timeline start at March 2024 or when commitment is signed?

00:50:41

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, it’s Phil, I can take this one. So, the 18-month timeline would actually start at the time of the signature of the contribution agreement.

For the purpose of scoring and determining um what, what score you are getting for expediency of completion and expediency of occupancy, we ask everyone to use July 1^st, 2023, as the expected date of the contribution agreement. Again, this is for scoring purposes to ensure that we're using the same start date for everyone.

00:51:26

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you.

Is there a list of approved projects from rounds one and round two, yeah sorry, rounds one and two?

00:51:36

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

Hi Mark, so the RHI website, as  part of the overall CMHC website, uh has results uh per province and territories in terms of number of units. Hum, as projects are being announced uh details on the projects can be placed uh can be found on a placetocallhome.ca.

00:52:00

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks again. Our next question.

Are there bonus points for reaching multiple groups, uh Indigenous youth those with mental health, LGBTQ, etc.?

00:52:13

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

Hi this is Kelly. I'll take this one on.

So, there are no bonus points for selecting multiple vulnerable population groups, but there are bonus points for targeting Black Canadians, Indigenous peoples and women and children. So, you'll remember there's bonus points for targeting those three population groups, where at least 25 per cent of units are targeting any of those three or a combination of those three population groups.

00:52:40

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks Kelly.

Can you please provide further detail on what levels slash type of support in seniors housing would make the project eligible versus ineligible for the initiative?

00:52:56

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

I can also answer that. It's Kelly again. So, seniors housing eligible under RHI, you should think of it as more of independent living model.

There can be light supports, such as meals, such as um perhaps the social workers or care providers coming into the building to provide assistance, but it should not be medical in nature, that's what would make it ineligible.

00:53:26,

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you and our next question. Can you please elaborate on how project costs incurred between April 2020 and December 2022 will contribute to an applicant's Cost-sharing contribution for projects funded through the Cities stream?

00:53:42

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

Hey Mark, I can take this one it's Matthew, and I'll invite my colleagues to, to fill any gaps if I miss anything.

So essentially where a city is going to be submitting a project, it'll be based on the total project cost. And so, where there are some costs that have been incurred that can be considered for cost- sharing that would reduce the overall amount that's required from that city's allocation to actually fund that particular project. One thing I would notice um as, previously mentioned, that cost-sharing is being prioritized under the Projects stream for this round of RHI. So, if there are projects that a city has that have large amounts of cost- sharing, there could be a consideration just knowing that there is some scoring on the Projects stream that might be beneficial for that particular project.

00:54:26

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you very much, Matthew.

Our next, our next question, excuse me. Are immigrants and refugees considered as prioritized groups for the purpose of eligibility criteria?

00:54:38

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

I can take this one, it's Kelly.

So recent Immigrants, especially refugees, are a population group who are vulnerable and targeted under the NHS the National Housing Strategy.

00:54:52

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks Kelly. Our next question. Will previously submitted updated application be considered?

00:54:59

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, it's Philippe. I can take this one.

If an applicant has previously submitted an application not been selected they are eligible for RHI.

What I would mention here is that a new application must be submitted through the portal that will be open on December 12^th, creating a completely new application, as some of the criteria have evolved, some of the fields required have also evolved. So, it's really under the Rapid Housing Initiative three as it will be showing up in the portal. So, it has to be a new application.

00:55:42

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you again.

Hum, next question. We are working with an Indigenous community that is in need of Rapid Housing for their band members. Is there a percentage of this fund uh is there a percentage of this fund, is a percentage of this fund a grant?

00:55:59

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, it's Philippe again. I'll take  this one.

Hum, Indigenous community, so Indigenous governing organizations are eligible for RHI, first and foremost, as well as Indigenous organizations. Uh the 100 per cent of RHI funds are a contribution, which you could call a grant as well, but really there's no loan involved this is 100 per cent contribution funding, where part of the fund, part of the project costs will be covered by this RHI contribution, as well as by other sources of funding that are not alone, as was mentioned previously.

00:56:45

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thanks again, Philippe. Uh our next question. For the Projects stream, does the percentage energy savings relative to reference code results in funding amounts? What should project teams be targeting for how much to exceed the relevant reference code?

00:57:01

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

I'll take this one. My name is Kelly. So, the percentage of energy savings relative to the reference code provides you with more prioritization scoring, so higher scoring. And the scoring is what essentially drives, in part, the prioritization of the application.

And so, the higher you're able to exceed the energy efficiency relative to the code, the higher the prioritization score you'll be able to avail yourself of.

00:57:35

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you, next question. Does the applicant need to own the land or can land acquisition be an eligible project expense?

00:57:44

[Speaker: Philippe Cloutier]

Hi Mark, it’s Philippe again. So, the land does not need to be owned. There is, uh as uh as was mentioned in the presentation, there is uh category of scoring that relates to land. So, if land is already owned, this would be reflect uh higher expediency or readiness for the start of construction or start of the project. So, there would be a prioritization given to this, but a piece of land that is either um that is not yet owned can be included as part of the expenses that will be covered by the RHI contribution. As well as it could be included there and covered under another funding sources and included for cost-sharing.

00:58:37

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you, our next question. Will cities have their own intake window and will we apply through a municipal entity?

00:58:46

[Speaker: Mathieu Manton]

Hi Mark. I can take this one, it's Matthew.

So, the intake window will be… The portal will be both the Cities stream and the Projects stream opening at the same time. As part of the application process, cities will have the option to select

which stream they're submitting their project under and I'm not quite sure I understand the second part of the question, but if this is in reference to non-profits looking to partner with municipalities under the Cities stream, I would say that municipalities have their own processes and will be responsible for project selection.

00:59:20

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you. Will projects that do not need  to acquire land or buildings, um but only need help with renovation through hard and soft costs?

00:59:32

[Speaker: Kelly Cutro]

I'll take this one, it's Kelly. So, you'll remember the three potential purposes  for the RHI funding and there are only three categories, there's the construction of new, there's the conversion of non-res [to] residential, and then there's the rehabilitation of existing projects that have been lost to the housing stock. And so, you'd have to fit within any of these three categories to be eligible to the funding. Simply renovating units that currently form part of the rental stock is not eligible under RHI.

01:00:08

[Speaker: Mark Stewart]

Thank you so much, Kelly. And that brings us to the end of our session. So, a big thank you to our um all our experts who are able to join today and provide um and provide the information and our presenters again Darryl and Kelly.

Hum, I'd just like to mention again that um all the resources, including the recording from today's session will be available, will be available on our um on our website at cmhc.ca. And uh thank you all very much for attending the session today and we hope you have a great day.