Subsidized Housing - Toronto

1. Subsidized Housing - Toronto

2. What is RGI? • Subsidized housing is also know as rent-geared to income housing (RGI) • The rent is based directly on the tenant's income, usually 30 per cent of the gross monthly household income.  If you receive social assistance, the rent charges are based on the rent benefit set by the Ontario government, rather than 30 per cent of the gross monthly income. • RGI housing subsidies are most often available in publicly-owned social housing, but are also available in co-operative, non profit and private housing

3. Who is Eligible? Basic eligibility for rent-geared-to-income housing has the following requirements: • All members of the household must be Canadian citizens, landed immigrants (permanent residents), applicants for permanent resident status, refugees, or a refugee claimants; • One member of the household must be 16 years of age or older; • There must be no enforceable deportation, departure or exclusion order against any household members; • No member of the household can owe arrears to another social housing provider in Ontario unless there is an up to date repayment schedule in place; • No household member or former member has convictions of rent-geared-to-income fraud or misrepresentation. • One acceptable personal identification document must be attached to your application form for each member of the household as proof of status in Canada.

4. How To Apply • Apply online • Download the application form and instructions from Housing Connections website • Visit one of our Community Partners • To pick up and/or get help with your application, visit the Housing Connections Resource Centre

5. Building Choices • When you apply for housing you will get to pick the buildings that you would like to live in. The more buildings you pick the better your chances of getting housing. • After you have applied you can add/remove buildings. Each building has its own waiting list. If you add a building you will be put on that building’s waiting list at the date that you added it (not the date you original applied for housing)

6. FAQ - Application Q: How will I know when my application is complete? A: A notice informing you of your application status will be mailed to you. No need to call.  Q: What if I can't get some of the information needed to complete my application? A: We may ask you for other information in its place. Until the application is complete, we will not place it on the waiting list. 

7. Getting a Housing Offer • If your name comes up on the waiting list and there is a unit that matches your request you will be made an offer • Your can refuse up to 3 offers before your name is removed from the waiting list and you have to re-apply (start the application process over again) • Once you have accepted an offer and are housed you are taken off the waiting list and will not be moved into a better unit

8. Rent Supplement • A rent supplement is a subsidy paid directly to landlords in private non-profit, co-operative, and privately owned buildings to bridge the gap between the monthly market rent charged for a unit and the RGI portion paid by the tenant. • Housing Connections administers the Rent Supplement Program with private market landlords in Toronto while the City administers the Rent Supplement Program in the non-profit sector. • Rent supplement landlords must fill units using the central waiting list, unless exempt by the City. • Tenants' eligibility is reviewed to remain in a RGI unit with an annual rent review.

9. Special Priority • The selection of applicants from the waiting list is chronological - when a housing provider has a vacancy, they contact the next applicant on their waiting list. • The exception to the first-come, first-served waiting list system is for Special Priority applicants who are housed on a priority basis. • Who qualifies for Special Priority? The City of Toronto rules give priority to the following categories: • The first priority is for victims of abuse (Special Priority Household Category).  All housing providers are required by the Social Housing Reform Act (SHRA) to give priority to victims of abuse. • The second priority is for the terminally ill - reserved for applicants who have less than two years to live.  Recognizing this priority is optional for housing providers.

10. Special Priority cont. • The third priority is for over-housed tenants in RGI housing.  Tenants who are housed in a unit that is larger than the unit they qualify for under the provincial occupancy standards are required to move to a unit size they qualify for. • In addition, the City of Toronto's local access rules ensure that individuals who are disadvantaged by a chronological system under the following categories will fill one in seven RGI vacancies: • homeless • separated families • newcomers who are homeless • youth who are 16 or 17 years old at the time of applying

11. The Waiting List • Getting subsidised housing may take a long time if you are not a special priority applicant. • The wait ranges from about 1 to 5 years for a bachelor; 7 to 10 years for a one-bedroom; 5 to 10 years for a two-bedroom; and up to 10 or 12 years for a three- to five-bedroom home. You need to wait for your name to come up on the waiting list and for a vacancy in the size of unit in buildings you have chosen. 

12. Appeals – Refusal to be Put on Waiting List ●If your application is rejected then you can write to Housing Connections to appeal the rejection. You must do this in writing by way of a letter sent to housing connections explaining why you disagree with their decision. ●You can get help from a legal clinic to do this.

13. Appeals – Already in RGI Housing General Complaints Complaint to the Community Unit Staff in person, by phone call, or to the tenant inquiry line if there is one – staff logs the complaint and it is sent to the Community Manager. ▼ If not resolved by Community Manager, tenant can ask that the complaint be sent to the Senior Manager. ▼ If not resolved by the Senior Manager, tenant can address the complaint to the Chief Executive Officer. ▼ If not resolved by Chief Executive Officer then contact a legal clinic for further assistance in appealing. *** Property standards complaints can then go to the Municipal Licensing and Standards Division if TCHC has done nothing within 30 days of the complaint

14. Appeals - Continued Human Rights or Harassment Complaints that involve a Community Manager Where a tenant has a complaint related to human rights or harassment that involves a Community Manager, this complaint can be made using the tenant inquiry line or directly to the office of the Chief Executive Officer. ▼ Where the tenant inquiry line has received a complaint that relates to harassment or infringement of human rights, tenant inquiry line staff would forward this complaint, within one day, to the Office of the Chief Executive Officer. ▼ The Chief Executive Officer will respond to the tenant complaint within 10 working days of receiving the complaint.

15. Appeals - Continued Service Delivery Issues related directly to a Community Manager Complaints about service delivery issues related directly to a Community Manager can be filed with the tenant inquiry line ▼ Tenant inquiry line staff will forward this complaint, within one day, to the designated senior manager. (At the time of implementation of this process, a senior manager will be designated). *** If you have any questions about complaints regarding your RGI Unit you can call your local legal clinic for further assistance. They are there to help you with tenancy matters.

16. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions: South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario (SALCO) 45 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 106A Toronto, Ontario M2N 5W9 Tel: (416) 487-6371 Fax: (416) 487-6456 www.salc.on.ca