Trefann Homes

Enabling home ownership was an important objective of the Trefann Court Urban Renewal Scheme. All 3 levels of government provided funding for the 17 new houses built in 1974 by the Trefann Homes Corporation (“a non-profit company representative of residents and businessmen of Trefann Court”). But then mortgage provider CMHC insisted these houses could not be sold to the people they had been intended for, since CMHC feared that speculators would resell them for a profit. An Aug 29, 1974 Toronto Star editorial opined: “Keep profit out of non-profit housing”.
This 1999 city report gives more details: the City of Toronto leased the land to Trefann Homes Corporation, and it, in turn, assigned/sold its interest in 9 houses to various individuals while retaining 8 houses for rental. The government prohibited rental of the owned units, and restricted the amount of their resale price to maintain affordability.