Province offers new incentives for multi-unit housing construction

The P.E.I. government has announced a new funding program to encourage the development of more multi-unit housing in the province.

The Residential Unit Development Incentive will providea property tax rebate that gets lower each year for up to five years for newly constructed rental units, the province said in a news release.

Eligible properties include buildings of at least 24 rental units in Charlottetown and Summerside, 12 rental units or more in Stratford and Cornwall, and buildings with at least four units in all other areas across P.E.I.

The rebate on provincial property tax will be 100 per cent in the first year going down to 20 per cent in year five.

Meanwhile, the province is also launching a new pilot program that offers two per cent financing along with the property tax rebates for the construction of new rental housing.

The Housing Development Challenge Pilot Program will support private developers, non-profits, and community-based service organizations in creating new rental housing by financing the construction of new housing facilities and/or infrastructure development of subdivisions in rural areas.

$50 million available

The pilot program will see an investment of $50 million available in term financing with $20 million being allocated for projects outside the Charlottetown, Cornwall, Stratford and Summerside area and $30 million for projects in the urban areas.

Applications will be assessed on location, timeframe to start and complete construction, energy efficiency, leasing/rental structure, design features and previous development success.

"After speaking to many landlords and property developers, we know that financing, property taxes, increased insurance costs and the cost of heating rental units have been challenges for property owners to provide and maintain rental housing in P.E.I.," Housing Minister Matthew MacKay said in the release.