federal to launch pre-approved home design catalogue, bring back post-war effort

The federal government is planning to launch a catalogue of pre-approved home designs to speed up the home-building process for developers.

Housing Minister Sean Fraser announced this on Tuesday. He said that the catalog of pre-approved house designs is being reintroduced. These blueprints were prepared by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation at the time to speed up the construction of houses.

The housing minister said the government will start a consultation on the matter in January and our goal is to make them available to developers next fall.

The Minister said that hundreds of thousands of houses were built between 1940 and 1970 with pre-approved plans under the Wartime Housing Programme. Many of these homes were built for returning World War II veterans. Sean Fraser said the government would work on pre-approved housing designs for multiplexes, mid-rise buildings and housing for students and the elderly.