A key provision of Ontario’s new bill meant to speed up housing construction would force municipalities that fail to make decisions on developers’ plans within tight deadlines to refund tens of thousands of dollars in application fees – a change that some urban-planning experts say will only result in more delays.

The ticking clock, aimed at cutting red tape and increasing housing supply, is part of a package of proposed changes labelled the More Homes for Everyone Act and unveiled by the province this week amid widespread concern about runaway real-estate prices.

As of next January, it would require municipalities to refund half of the fees for a rezoning application if they have not made a decision with 90 days, or 120 days if the application also calls for an amendment to an official plan. After 150 days (or 180 days for official plan amendments), a 75-per-cent refund is required, with the whole amount due after 210 days (or 240 days for official plan amendments.) In Toronto, an official plan-amendment application alone costs $60,000.

Theses deadlines are already almost never hit in Toronto as approvals can take close to two years – which developers have long complained gums up their ability to build new homes and adds thousands of dollars in costs to each new unit.

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