On November 21, the 2023 Fall Economic Statement announced the renaming of the National Housing Co-Investment Fund (NHCF). The program is now known as the Affordable Housing Fund. It includes an additional $1 billion in funding over 3 years, starting in 2025-26, to build more affordable housing.
Funding is still available. The federal government intends to announce reforms to the Affordable Housing Fund in early 2024.
This option of the Affordable Housing Fund - Contribution Fund increases access to housing funding for Black-led organizations. The contribution funding supports Black-led* organizations to build housing benefiting Black households.
* As a guideline, an organization is deemed Black-led when at least two-thirds of its leadership and governance positions are occupied by people self-identifying as Black.
Online Application Portal
Before starting your application, please take a moment to download, save, and review our application guide. The guide includes information required to create your profile and start the application process successfully.
The Fund prioritizes partnerships between Black-led organizations and other partners like governments, non-profits and other organizations.
Contribution Funding through the Affordable Housing Fund is designed to support organizations that have already partnered and secured funding but need more capital. It can be used to:
top-up funding – when you have most of your project funding secured and require top-up funding to close a funding gap
leverage other funding sources – get funding confirmation within 30 days of being prioritized that can then be used to secure funding from other sources
Contribution Funding provides:
an unsecured contribution that facilitates seamless integration into project financing structures. This can make it easier for you to attract other sources of funding.
* The Affordable Housing Fund’s Contribution funding amounts are calculated based on 3 factors:
a per unit calculation
specific project needs
a percentage of costs (non-profits/co-ops = 40%.)
The final amount of funding is determined by whichever of these 3 calculations results in the lowest figure. For non-profit organizations and co-ops, this percentage of costs is capped at 40%.
AM I ELIGIBLE?
Eligible applicants include:
Black-led organizations in Canada
Eligible projects include the construction of:
new community and affordable housing
mixed use market / affordable rental
conversion from a non-residential use to affordable residential
shelters
transitional and supportive housing
To be eligible your project:
must have a minimum of 5 units/beds
be primarily for residential use
Your projects must have support from another level of government such as:
a municipality
a province or territory
Partners will be required to contribute to the project including monetary or in-kind contributions.
Support can be in the form of investment of resources. It can also be in the form of a letter endorsing your project.
IMPORTANT: The Contribution Fund is targeted to projects that already have (or will be securing) most of their project funding from other sources. If you require more than 40% of funds already secured, apply through one of the other CMHC Programs, like MLI Select or the Apartment Construction Loan Program.
Application steps and approval process
Once received, your application will be reviewed for readiness, eligibility and completion.
We will contact you if additional documentation or clarifications are required before starting the assessment and prioritization of your application.
Contribution funding commitment (up to 30 days)
You’ll receive a contribution agreement confirming CMHC’s conditional
approval of funding for the project if your application is deemed complete.
Meet funding conditions (you have up to 6 months to satisfy all
conditions)
Your CMHC specialist will continue to work with you to meet all conditions outlined in the agreement. You must fulfil the required conditions within the set time frame. Failure to do so could potentially result in the cancellation of your application or changes to the funding commitment from CMHC.
First advance (required documentation must be provided 10 days before
each drawdown date)
The contribution agreement will outline the process and any supporting documentation needed to request an advance from CMHC.
Once you have all required documentation (PDF) and have spoken to your CMHC specialist, upload your documents and fill out the application in our portal.