The London & Middlesex Housing Stability Action Plan (2026-2031) is a unified roadmap that will guide how the City of London and Middlesex County work together to prevent homelessness, improve access to safe and affordable housing, and provide the supports people need to stay housed over the next five years.

The draft Plan is informed by local data and trends, sector best practices, existing housing and homelessness strategies, and community engagement. It reflects current housing pressures across London and Middlesex County and provides a coordinated, system-wide approach to improving housing stability.

The draft Plan is now available as part of the staff report for the upcoming Community and Protective Services Committee meeting on May 4, 2026.

The draft Plan focuses three strategic areas of focus:

• Respond to the Homelessness Crisis: This area focuses on providing the right level of service at the right time to meet the needs of individuals and families at risk of or experiencing homelessness, with a focus on prevention and diversion, improved service access, stronger pathways to housing, improved coordination, and better access to health and wraparound supports.
• Create More Housing Stock: This area focuses on ensuring there is a sufficient supply and range of housing options to help build strong communities, including affordable, supportive, and mixed housing, while also protecting existing affordable housing stock.
• Provide Housing Supports: This area focuses on creating meaningful opportunities for individuals and families to secure and maintain housing by improving access to housing information, coordinated services, and the supports needed to remain housed.

What happens next

The draft Plan will be considered by the Community and Protective Services Committee on May 4, 2026, and by City Council on May 12, 2026.

If endorsed by Council, the draft Plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval.

A key next step after Council endorsement will be the development of a more detailed implementation plan. That work will help identify priorities, timelines, responsibilities, and progress reporting, and will support how the Plan moves into coordinated action over time.

How the Plan was developed

The draft Plan was developed using a combination of local data and trend analysis, review of best practices, alignment with existing strategies, and community engagement.

More than 500 people participated in the engagement process, including residents, local service providers, local businesses, organizations supporting equity-denied groups, individuals with lived and living experience of homelessness, and elected officials.

Input was gathered through a range of methods, including community surveys, open houses, consultation sessions, community conversation toolkits, and outreach through organizations serving individuals with lived and living experience of homelessness.

Community input helped validate and refine the Plan’s strategic areas of focus, proposed actions, and overall direction.

Background

Under the Housing Services Act, 2011, Service Managers are required to review their housing stability plans every five years. The City of London is the Service Manager for both London and Middlesex County.

This update brings together the City of London Housing Stability Action Plan 2019 – 2024 and the Middlesex County Homeless Prevention and Housing Plan 2019 – 2024 into one shared plan for 2026 to 2031. The new plan builds on previous housing and homelessness planning work while creating a more unified framework for both communities and preserving distinct local actions for each area.

The Plan reflects current housing and homelessness pressures across the region, including population growth, low vacancy rates, rising rents, core housing need, increasing homelessness, and limited movement across the housing continuum.

It also aligns with related plans and strategies already guiding this work, including the City of London’s Strategic Plan, the Whole of Community System Response, the Hubs Implementation Plan, the Highly Supportive Housing Plan, Ontario’s Homeless Prevention Program, the Government of Canada’s National Housing Strategy, and Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.

The Plan is intended to guide local efforts over the next five years and support a more coordinated response to housing instability and homelessness across London and Middlesex County.