District Seeks Commercial Partner for Attainable Housing Head Lease Program

The District Municipality of Muskoka (the District) has launched a new Attainable Head Lease Program to help residents access attainable housing in Muskoka.

Through the program, the District intends to work with private rental property owners and builders to secure residential units in the private market. The District can then make these units available at affordable rental rates consistent with current Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation market rates and provide ongoing support to landlords and tenants to achieve successful tenancies.

What is a Head Lease?

A Head Lease is a primary commercial lease between a landlord and tenant, where the tenant can sublease the unit to subtenants.

Under the District's Head Lease program, the District signs a lease with the building owner to become the tenant. The District also becomes a sublandlord and can then sublease the unit to individuals or families, considered the District's subtenants.

Supporting Access to Attainable Housing

The Attainable Head Lease Program drives the creation of new attainable housing, which is both a key objective of the Muskoka Affordable Housing Initiatives Program (MAHIP) and a goal of the District's Ten Year Housing and Homelessness Plan.

Units secured through the program will be used to house individuals or families experiencing homelessness, those who have barriers to accessing attainable housing, or those living in housing situations that do not support their needs.

Learn More

If you are interested in this partnership opportunity, and the potential to achieve reliable long term rental income, please consider submitting a brief proposal. Funding is available for more than one partnership.

To learn more, you can view the complete Request for Proposal (RFP) on Biddingo or our website: www.muskoka.on.ca/bids

Two information sessions are available on Tuesday, August 24, at 10.30 a.m. and Wednesday, August 25, at 3:00 p.m. Full details are described in the RFP.  Please pre-register by contacting Jackie Mattice at jackie.mattice@muskoka.on.ca.

The RFP closes on Friday, September 10, 2021.

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