The National Housing Act (, NHA) is the primary federal law concerning housing in Canada. More specifically, it is intended to promote the construction of new houses, the repair and modernization of existing houses, and the improvement of housing and living conditions. First passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1938, replacement National Housing Acts were passed in 1944 and 1954. Major amendments to these acts occurred in 1948, 1949, 1956, 1964, 1969, 1973, 1985, 1999 and 2007.
The purpose of the NHA set out in section 3 "in relation to financing for housing, is to promote housing affordability and choice, to facilitate access to, and competition and efficiency in the provision of, housing finance, to protect the availability of adequate funding for housing at low cost, and generally to contribute to the well-being of the housing sector in the national economy."
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is the agency responsible for administering the act, since its establishment in 1945.
History
Dominion Housing Act 1935
The Dominion Housing Act was passed in 1935 as Canada's first national housing policy.
It included as part of "Canada's New Deal" put forward by Prime Minister R. B. Bennett, who was facing an election with low support following his government's response to the Great Depression. Taking inspiration from President Roosevelt's New Deal, Bennett proposed regulatory and social safety net legislation.
Despite demands for affordable housing from social reformers, the DHA ended up setting the tone for all future housing legislation with the provision of loans for the wealthiest Canadians and promotion of homeownership and mortgage lending infrastructure.
The DHA consisted of two parts: A total of 3,263 mortgage loans were administered through the Dominion Housing Act from 1935 to 1938.
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In 1938, the first National Housing Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada to replace and expand the scope of the Dominion Housing Act of 1935.