New analysis shows reducing or eliminating development charges could increase viable projects by up to 14% in some cities.

Our first Development Charges and Fees Survey, released in December 2025, quickly became one of our most referenced publications. It provides highly sought-after information for developers, researchers and the public.

Now we're taking the next step: analyzing the updated and expanded development charges data to better understand its implications. Data from December has been updated, and development charge data is now collected for 10 additional cities, bringing the total number of municipalities to 40.

CMHC's new modeling and analysis for selected cities also shows that reducing or even eliminating these charges may increase the number of viable projects. In some cities, this increase may be as high as 14%. Despite this potential increase, eliminating development charges alone won't solve the housing crisis for many cities. But, reducing or eliminating development charges also presents a challenge for municipalities.

Read the complete press release