At Home Incentive Program (AHIP)

The At Home Incentive Program (AHIP) is a Regional Municipality of Durham initiative designed to increase the supply of affordable rental housing in the region. AHIP provides financial assistance to both private for-profit and non-profit housing organizations to support the development of purpose-built affordable rental housing. 

Key Objectives:

• Increase Affordable Housing Supply: Support the creation of new affordable rental housing units through new construction, conversion of non-residential buildings, and additions to existing sites.
• Promote Mixed-Income Communities: Facilitate the development of well-designed, well-managed mixed-income communities.
• Support Urban Revitalization: Encourage projects that contribute to the revitalization and intensification of urban areas.
• Enhance Housing Affordability: Reduce development costs to improve housing affordability for low- and moderate-income households.

Program Benefits:

• AHIP provides forgivable loans to cover up-front capital costs for affordable housing projects.
• Streamlined planning approvals and dedicated Regional Planning staff to facilitate project development.
• Deferrals and exemptions for development charges to support affordable housing projects.

Eligibility:

To be eligible, projects must provide a minimum of five affordable housing units and may include:

• New construction.
• Conversion of non-residential buildings to purpose built rental housing.
• Addition of new affordable buildings/units to existing sites/buildings.
• Community housing redevelopment that increases the supply of affordable housing units.

Applicants must have experience in residential housing developments. Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity to successfully deliver and manage the project or are partnered with an experienced organization that will provide these services. Affordable units must meet the Region’s definition of affordability, with monthly occupancy costs that are less than or equal to the average market rent. Applicants must demonstrate financial and operational capacity to successfully deliver and manage the project.

Program Guidelines:

The At Home Incentive Program Guidelines provide information to assist private and non-profit organizations that want to partner with the Region to create new affordable purpose-built rental housing. These Guidelines include information about available resources, eligibility criteria, and the application and approval process for the At Home Incentive Program. This information will assist organizations to complete their Application Forms.

• At Home Incentive Program Guidelines