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On October 23, 2025, the province of Ontario (the Province) introduced Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, for first reading. Bill 60 is an omnibus bill that proposes to amend 16 Acts, including the Planning Act, Development Charges Act, 1997, Transit-Oriented Communities Act, 2020, and the Building Code Act, 1992, among other matters.
Bill 60 proposes to build on the amendments introduced in Bill 17, Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, enacted in the spring (see our previous article here), which are intended to drive economic growth and accelerate the construction of homes in the Province by streamlining planning approval requirements and reducing barriers to development.
A summary of Bill 60's notable changes is below.
Development Charges (DCs)
| Topic | Summary |
| Land Acquisition Costs | The Development Charges Act, 1997 (the DC
Act) currently allows a municipality to include in a DC the capital
costs to acquire land or an interest in land. Further, an increase
in DCs is determined, in part, by the value of the land that the
municipality owns. As land value increases, so do DCs.
Bill 60 proposes to amend the DC Act to require land acquisition costs to be part of a class in a DC by-law consisting only of those costs. Land acquisition costs would also be exempted from the historic service level cap. However, subject to certain exceptions, estimates for the increase in land acquisition costs cannot include increases beyond the 10-year period following the preparation of a DC background study. The proposed amendments intend to ensure that land costs do not inappropriately inflate DCs. |
| Local Services | The DC Act currently prohibits municipalities from
imposing DCs, ordering the completion of works, or offering DC
credits for "local services." However, the Act does not
specifically define "local services" which is often
determined by municipalities at their discretion.
To reduce disputes over who should pay for infrastructure needed for new housing, Bill 60 proposes to require municipalities to formally adopt a local services policy to define local services for each service area. Once in force, all services will be DC eligible unless described in the local service policy. Municipalities will have 18 months after Bill 60 comes into force to enact a local services policy. |
| Ministerial Oversight | The DC Act requires municipalities to complete a DC background study before passing a DC By-law. If enacted, Bill 60 will require municipalities to forward their DC by-laws, DC background studies, or local services policy to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing if requested to do so. |
Planning Act and Planning Approval Modifications
| Topic | Summary |
| As-of-right Variances | Earlier this year, Bill 17 amended the Planning Act to allow "as-of-right" minor variances to setback provisions by a prescribed percentage. The Province's proposed regulation sets this variance as 10%. Bill 60 proposes to expand the flexibility introduced through Bill 17 to provide the Minister with regulation-making authority to allow minor variances from additional performance standards to be permitted "as-of-right" by a prescribed percentage. The Province's Technical Briefing suggests that the intent is to utilize this broader flexibility for variances to height. |
| Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZO) | The Province, through Bill 60, proposes to alter
the MZO process by: (1) excepting MZOs from the regulatory
requirements of the Legislation Act, allowing the orders
to simply be posted on a government webpage; (2) allowing
municipalities to delegate the authority to enter into MZO
development agreements to staff; and (3) empowering the Minister to
set deadlines for entering into an agreement and resolving matters
within, with further powers to deem conditions satisfied, of no
force and effect, or to require the municipality/proponent to make
a motion for directions to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
These changes are intended to streamline the MZO process and to incentivize the quicker execution and resolution of MZO development agreements. |
| Ministerial Decisions | Bill 60 proposes to exempt most ministerial decisions, including modifications to official plans submitted for approval, from having to be consistent with the Provincial Planning Statement (2024) (the PPS). This change is intended to grant the Minister with increased flexibility in their decision-making. |
| Community Improvement Plans (CIP) | A CIP is a municipal tool to designate areas for
revitalization. If enacted, a CIP allows the municipality to
establish programs, grants, and make loans for projects. The
Planning Act currently limits the ability to enact CIPs to
prescribed upper-tier municipalities. Upper-tier municipalities
that lost planning responsibility also lost the ability to
administer CIPs because their official plans were downloaded to
their lower-tier counterparts.
Bill 60 proposes to permit all upper-tier municipalities to enact CIPs and to restore previously existing CIPs for upper-tier municipalities without planning responsibilities. |
Transit Oriented Development
| Topic | Summary |
| Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) | PMTSAs are designated areas in official plans
identified for significant growth aligned with provincial transit
investments. Although similar to major transit station areas,
PMTSAs provide municipalities with additional tools, including the
authority to require a prescribed number of affordable units
through an inclusionary zoning by-law. A municipality must submit
all proposed PMTSAs to the Minister for approval. Additional
policies relating to PMTSAs, including authorized uses and
proposals to amend or revoke a PMTSA, are also subject to approval
by the Minister.
Bill 60 proposes to remove an added layer of approval by allowing the Minister to exempt certain types of amendments or revocations to PMTSA policies from their approval, making the municipality (or the Ontario Land Tribunal on appeal, subject to existing limitations) the approval authority for those amendments. The Minister's exemption from approval only applies to amendments/revocations of policies identifying permitted uses and only if residential uses continue to be permitted. |
| Mandatory TOC-related Agreements | Under the Transit-Oriented Communities Act,
2020, the Minister of Infrastructure or a delegated entity
(including Metrolinx) has the authority to enter into agreements
with a landowner if the land is or may be necessary to support a
Transit Oriented Community (TOC) project. Those agreements can be
registered on title, and the Minister or a municipality can enforce
the provisions against any and all subsequent owners.
Bill 60 proposes to allow the Minister of Infrastructure to require municipalities and landowners to enter into agreements to support a TOC project. This proposal is intended to expedite the execution of site plan agreements deemed necessary to accelerate TOC projects. |
| Advisory TOC Panel | Bill 60 also proposes to add a new section to the
Transit-Oriented Communities Act, 2020, providing that the
Minister may establish a "Transit-Oriented Communities
Advisory Panel." The panel would have the authority to advise
and make recommendations on TOC projects and "perform any
other function that the Minister specifies."
The Province's technical briefing indicates an intention to use the advisory panel to help reduce TOC project delays by assisting with dispute resolution. The precise nature and scope of such dispute resolution, and the role of the advisory panel in that process, remains to be seen. |
| GO Transit Station Charges | Under the GO Transit Station Funding Act,
2023, a municipality may, subject to certain requirements,
impose a transit station charge against land to pay for GO transit
station construction. Currently, the charge is payable for a
development upon building permit issuance.
Bill 60 proposes to authorize a municipality to collect a transit station charge for residential development on the day any part of the building is first occupied. The municipality would also have the authority to require the payee to provide security for the payment. |
Transit and Transportation-Related Changes
| Topic | Summary |
| Designations of certain roads deemed not to be expropriations | Within the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act, the Minister has the authority to designate roads as "Controlled-Access Highways," "King's Highways," and "Secondary Highways," which can result in setback requirements for any future development that cannot be varied through zoning by-law amendments. Bill 60 proposes to deem designation of these roads, along with certain authorized entrances to land and alterations to land or obstructions, to never have constituted an expropriation or injurious affection. |
| Connections to Municipal Services and Roads for the Operation and Maintenance of Provincial Transit Projects | Through amendments proposed in the Building Transit Faster Act, 2020, Metrolinx is proposed to have expanded powers to determine the need for access to municipal roads, rights-of-way, and services for the operation and maintenance of provincial transit projects. The Minister's powers to issue orders to municipalities and Metrolinx to facilitate access is also expanded to municipal services. |
| Prohibitions on Vehicular Lane reductions to create bicycle lanes | Amendments are proposed to the Highway Traffic Act prohibiting municipalities to reduce the number of vehicular lanes available to create bicycle lanes. |
NEW Legislation: Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act, 2025
| Topic | Summary |
| New Water and Wastewater Public Corporation | Bill 60 also introduces the Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act, 2025. The new legislation would enable the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to create a water and wastewater public corporation, which would provide water and sewage services on behalf of lower-tier municipalities. |
| Transfer of Jurisdiction Over Water and Wastewater Services | Under the Municipal Act,
2001, Peel Region has exclusive authority over sewage
treatment, the collection of sanitary sewage, water production,
treatment, and storage, and water distribution.
Bill 60 proposes to remove that authority and transfer it to the City of Mississauga, City of Brampton, and the Town of Caledon on a date to be prescribed (or by no later than January 1, 2029). |
Residential Tenancies
| Topic | Summary |
| Residential Tenancies | The Province is proposing, through legislative
amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, to:
These changes are intended to reduce delays and backlog at the Landlord and Tenant Board. Consultation on several of the other proposed legislative amendments discussed above has been posted to the Regulatory Registry of Ontario, as linked above. The comment period for these consultations will close on November 22, 2025. |
Review and Consultation on Further Regulations and Initiatives
The Province is also moving forward with various proposed regulations, enactments of new regulations, and consultation on future initiatives to support Bill 60. A summary of these efforts is below.
| Topic | Summary |
| Building Code Review | As part of its technical briefing, the Province
announced it is conducting a section-by-section review of the
Building Code. This announcement follows recent Building Code
changes that took effect on January 1, 2025. On that date, the
Province, by regulation, adopted the National Building Code,
subject to Ontario-only amendments within a document entitled
"Ontario Amendments to the National Building Code of Canada
2020."
No consultation through the Regulatory Registry of Ontario or the Environmental Registry of Ontario (the ERO) has been posted to date. |
| Standardizing Official Plans (OP) | The Province has published a notice on the ERO to simplify and standardize
OP requirements in response to concerns that OPs have become
lengthy, complicated, and highly restrictive planning documents
that vary widely between municipalities. The Province is consulting
on imposing a uniform structure for OPs, consisting of standard
sections covering settlement area structures and boundaries, growth
management, general policies, residential and mixed-use
designations, employment areas, infrastructure, and natural
heritage.
The Province is also seeking feedback on: (1) limiting the length of OPs through either a word limit (65,000 words) or a page limit (250 pages); (2) creating uniform land use designations and making land use designations more permissive; (3) facilitating transition to new rules; and (4) submitting OPs through an online portal. The comment period for this consultation is expected to close on December 22, 2025. |
| Minimum Lot Sizes | The Province is seeking public feedback on the
potential reduction or removal of minimum lot size requirements in
low-density urban residential areas. The Planning Act
generally defines parcels of urban residential land as serviced
parcels with residential uses in a settlement area. The
Province's stated intention is to consider whether the setting
of minimum lot sizes in urban residential areas unnecessarily
inhibits residential development.
The comment period for this consultation will close on November 22, 2025. |
|
Green Development Standards |
Under Bill 17, the Province amended the
Building Code Act, 1992, to confirm that municipal by-law
powers do not authorize the enactment of by-laws respecting the
construction or demolition of buildings. These amendments were a
response to municipal standards that exceeded Building Code
requirements, particularly in relation to "green building
standards" which varied across municipal jurisdictions.
The Province is now seeking public feedback on the use by municipalities of "enhanced development standards," such as "green development standards." The Province's new consultation process is expected to lead to regulatory changes respecting the imposition of green development standards, such as green roof requirements, to prevent inconsistent standards and to reduce development costs. The comment period for this consultation will close on November 22, 2025. |
| Beneficial Re-use of Excess Soil | Last year, the Province consulted on various proposals to reduce the
regulatory burden of regulations concerning excess soil.
In December 2024, the Province announced it would extend the deadline to send excess soils to landfills from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2027, but required additional consultation for the remaining proposals. The Province has now posted an updated decision on the ERO and enacted regulations to amend O. Reg 406/19 (the Excess Soil Regulation). Among other matters, amendments relevant to project owners and reuse site owners and operators include the following:
|
| Records of Site Condition (RSC) | We previously reported on proposed amendments to O.
Reg 153/04, the regulation governing RSCs (the RSC Regulation),
that would prevent a person from being required to file an RSC as a
municipal condition if the RSC was based on a clean Phase One
Environmental Site Assessment, as well as to exempt a greater
number of conversions from RSCs. See here for more details.
On October 23, 2025, the Province largely carried forward these amendments and further amended the RSC Regulation. The RSC Regulation now prohibits a person from filing an RSC if: (1) the RSC is not required under the Environmental Protection Act; (2) the RSC is based solely on a Phase One Environmental Site Assessment confirming that there are no Areas of Potential Environmental Concern; and (3) a Phase Two Environmental Site Assessment is not required. The RSC Regulation continues to permit a person to file an RSC if the person provides a written declaration that the RSC is being submitted voluntarily and not to comply with a requirement imposed by a third-party (such as a municipality). These requirements include any requirement imposed through a legal instrument (such as a by-law or subpision condition), or through an agreement. This requirement would not apply to conditions imposed before these amendments came into effect. The RSC Regulation allows a person to build additions to an existing building without having to file an RSC, provided that the ground floor building envelope remains unchanged and there are no ground-floor additions. The Province has also published a guideline outlining potential alternatives to an RSC. |
Next Steps
Bill 60 is currently before the Legislature at Second Reading. Further debate and committee consideration may lead to additional amendments. We will continue to monitor and report on further developments as they arise.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
