• Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative
  • Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative
  • Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit

Ontario is working together with our delivery partners to achieve targets and outcomes that are focused on meeting the housing needs of vulnerable Ontario families and individuals. This includes ensuring that tenants in existing social housing units are protected, and that the stock of existing social housing is preserved as a public asset. Existing stock has an insured replacement value of more than $30 billion, excluding land. Over time new housing supply will be created to help the 15% of Ontario households in core housing need. These outcomes, expected results and nine-year targets are set out in the table below.

Table 3: Targets and outcomes for expected results overall
OutcomeExpected Results2019-20 to 2028-29 Target*
Maintain/ increase social housing supplyUnits continue to be offered in social housing131,067
Maintain/ increase social housing supply15% expansion of rent assisted units19,660
Maintain/ increase social housing supplyNo net loss of Urban Native Housing units available to low-income households1,452
Repair existing stockAt least 20% of existing social housing units repaired26,213
Repair existing stockRetained Urban Native Housing units are repaired to good condition1,452
Increased supply and appropriate mix of affordable and adequate housingNumber of new affordable rental units3,132
Increased supply and appropriate mix of affordable and adequate housingNumber of affordable rental units renovated/repaired3,949
People are better connected to housing assistance and supports that are responsive to their complex and changing needs

Number of households in receipt of rental affordability assistance

53,959

People are better connected to housing assistance and supports that are responsive to their complex and changing needsNumber of households in receipt of homeownership affordability assistance617
People are better connected to housing assistance and supports that are responsive to their complex and changing needsNumber of households in receipt of housing-related supports3,248

*Social housing targets are based on baseline numbers for social housing units and Urban Native Housing units which are set out in the Bilateral Agreement. Targets for affordable units, affordability assistance and housing-related supports are based on program take-up assumptions from previous similar programs

Ontario’s Community Housing Renewal Strategy sets out Ontario’s plan to make progress toward achieving these targets and outcomes. It ensures an appropriate balance between eliminating and reducing housing need, over the first three years of implementation, from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

How the initiatives will support the achievement of targets and outcomes

Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative

The Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative will maintain Ontario’s social housing supply, including Urban Native Housing units, and over time may expand the supply of rent-assisted units. The initiative will protect tenants living in projects with expiring operating agreements/mortgages and promote the long-term sustainability of non-profit and co-operative housing providers.

For the first three years, the funding focus is on protecting tenants and the preservation of social housing supply. Funding will also target social housing providers that can demonstrate their potential for long-term sustainability.

Funding priorities for the first three years are:

  • Protect rent-geared-to-income tenants in non-profit and co-operative housing projects with expiring operating agreements/mortgages through:
    • an ongoing rent-geared-to-income rent, where the provider continues to receive an operating subsidy or enters into a rent supplement agreement
    • funding a household to transition to a portable housing benefit through the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit or another funding source
    • funding a household to transition to market rent where feasible and appropriate.
  • Assist community housing providers with expiring operating agreements/mortgages up to 2021-22 to transition to an operationally sustainable approach to providing high quality community housing. This can take the form of one or more of the following:
    • a time-limited transitional operating subsidy agreement associated with achieving housing provider financial independence and sustainability
    • access to repair funding to support ongoing financial independence and sustainability
    • a rent supplement agreement for a set number of rental units
  • Achieve no net loss of Urban Native Housing units, through repair, capital replacement, household affordability support and/or operating subsidies to achieve provider sustainability.

In subsequent three-year implementation periods, targeted investments will support effective transitions for non-profit, co-operative and municipally-owned community housing.

Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative

The Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative will provide flexible funding to address local housing priorities and improve access to affordable housing options. The initiative will help to increase affordable housing supply and improve the state of repair of the affordable and social housing stock.

Eligible funding activities:

  • increase community housing supply (e.g. construction of housing or conversion to housing)
  • preserve affordable and social housing which can include repair, renovation or adaptation of housing
  • provide affordability support such as housing allowances, rent supplements and home owner down payment assistance

Additionally, up to 20% of cost-matching funding under the initiative can be used for support services.

Service Managers will have the flexibility to determine which program components they participate in based on local needs and priorities.

Indigenous Program Administrators will deliver the Off-Reserve Indigenous Housing component which provides funding for new affordable rental housing construction, home repair, and homeownership assistance for Indigenous households.

Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit

The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) will build on the Ontario Portable Housing Benefit-Special Priority Policy to increase affordability of rental housing in Ontario by providing portable housing benefits directly to households in need that are on, or eligible to be on, a social housing waiting list and to households in financial need living in Community Housing.

Priority for COHB will be given to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness, Indigenous persons, seniors, people with disabilities, and households that will no longer receive housing assistance as a result of expiring social housing operating agreements/mortgages and/or federal/provincial programs.

The COHB will be immediately portable within Ontario as it will be paid directly to households and not tied to a unit.  The household may consent to the Housing Benefit being paid on their behalf to a third party.

In order to mitigate inflationary effects, the COHB will be based on a partial-gap model, in which the COHB amount will be calculated as the difference between a percentage of average market rent in the applicant’s community, (and not tied to the actual rent paid by the household) and 30% of the household’s monthly net income.  Households will also be subject to a minimum rent payment. Ontario will work with CMHC to monitor and mitigate potential inflationary effects.

Addressing the needs of vulnerable populations

The Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, and Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit are delivered within Ontario’s systems planning framework. Under this framework Ontario sets the overall vision and establishes the legislative and policy framework for housing and homelessness initiatives. Service Managers identify the needs of vulnerable populations in their communities, develop local housing and homelessness plans to address those needsfootnote 1, and deliver services to people either directly or through delivery partners.

Ontario’s approach focuses on families and individuals most in need. Ontario’s Community Housing Renewal Strategy will make the current housing system more streamlined, sustainable and ready to help people who need it most. Initiatives under the Strategy include changes which will ensure that tenants who receive child support payments will no longer be penalized financially under rent-geared-to-income rules, as well as amendments to regulations to give community housing providers the authority to refuse to re-house a tenant based on a previous eviction for a serious criminal offence, so that all residents feel safer in their homes.

Each Service Manager is required to develop an Investment Plan that outlines how the annual Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative and Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative funding allocations will be used over the first three-year funding period (2019-20 to 2021-22). The Investment Plan includes a description of how the program components chosen by the Service Manager will address the needs identified in the Service Manager’s housing and homelessness plan. The Investment Plan also identifies any targeted vulnerable sub-populations under the selected program components, according to the groups defined under the National Housing Strategy. Ontario reviews the Investment Plans to ensure consistency with the Bilateral Agreement and program guidelines.

Ontario has established a toolbox of housing and homelessness initiatives through which Service Managers address the unique housing needs of women and girls. This includes the Special Priority Policy, set out in Ontario Regulation 367/11 of the Housing Services Act, 2011, which provides priority access to rent-geared-to-income social housing for survivors of domestic violence and survivors of human trafficking. Once a household qualifies for the Special Priority Policy they must be placed at the top of their Service Manager social housing waiting list above all other applicants. In addition, the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit program supports survivors of domestic violence and survivors of human trafficking and provides them with the flexibility to choose where they want to live. Service Managers are also working together with community partners to implement social housing and affordable housing initiatives and homelessness services which are designed to address the needs of women and girls. Other vulnerable populations are also given priority for the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, including persons experiencing or at risk of homelessness, Indigenous persons, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Through the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, and the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit Service Managers will have a range of program delivery options to meet the needs of vulnerable sub-populations, including women and girls, in their communities.

Under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, social housing tenants will be protected. Through repairs and renovations, the physical structure of community housing buildings will be improved, resulting in better living conditions for the low-income and vulnerable tenants who live there. In addition, improvements to core building systems, such as heating and cooling, will reduce the operating costs for community housing and increase the amount of funding that can be put towards protecting tenancies and preserving supply. Extending the physical life of the stock could enable more low-income and vulnerable tenants to live in community housing.

Addressing the housing needs of Indigenous Ontarians is a priority. Ensuring that there is no net loss of Urban Native Housing units and that the retained units are repaired to good condition will benefit the vulnerable populations that live there. Tenants will benefit from better living conditions and extended life of the stock.

Under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, Service Managers will be required to prioritize funding to address the housing needs of the identified vulnerable populations. Up to 20% of cost-matching funding can also be used to provide support services to affordable and social housing tenants, such as financial literacy and accessing social supports.

In addition, under this initiative Indigenous Program Administrators will deliver an Off-Reserve Indigenous Housing component which provides funding for new affordable rental housing, construction, home repair and homeownership assistance targeted specifically to Indigenous households.

Preserving affordability while promoting financial sustainability, asset management and social inclusion

Under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, community housing providers with expiring operating agreements/mortgages can receive transitional operating subsidy funding to protect tenants as providers move towards greater independence and fiscal sustainability.

Funding under this initiative can be used to help providers address sustainability issues such as:

  • streamlining internal operations to improve efficiencies
  • amalgamation of smaller provider corporations to improve operating efficiencies or foster economies of scale
  • coordinating procurement opportunities among a number of providers

Funding can also be used for asset management planning services, such as building condition surveys and technical assessments of significant repairs that must be made within identified timelines.

Investments in community housing improvements will also be protected through the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative’s requirement that funded community housing providers must continue to offer affordable housing for 10 years following the completion of the retrofit activity.

Flexible funding under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative can be used to address local housing priorities to preserve community/affordable housing, including repair, renovation or adaptation of housing, as well as to provide affordability support such as housing allowances, rent supplements and home owner down payment assistance. In addition, funding can be used to provide support services to affordable and social housing tenants, such as financial literacy and accessing social supports.

Community housing renewal to achieve long-term sustainability

For the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, the funding focus over the first three-year implementation period, from 2019-20 to 2021-22, will be on protecting tenants and the preservation of social housing supply. Funding under the initiative will also target social housing providers that can demonstrate their potential for long-term sustainability. The funding priorities, which are set out in the beginning of this section, will help protect tenants living in projects with expiring operating agreements and promote the long-term sustainability of non-profit and co-operative housing providers.

Under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, Service Managers have the option to use funding towards the repair of social housing, and are strongly encouraged to use energy-saving products and systems for all repair activities to achieve cost savings. Repairs will focus on activities that will support ongoing financial sustainability.

Under the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, several vulnerable groups have been identified as priorities for COHB support, including households living in community housing that are no longer receiving financial assistance as a result of expiring federal-provincial programs or social housing operating agreements/mortgages.

Creating liveable and inclusive communities

Under both the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative and the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, funds that lead to the preservation of affordable and social housing will help to maintain existing housing in areas that are often already accessible to services, employment opportunities and transit. In addition, Service Managers may use a portion of cost-matching funding under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative to provide support services to tenants of affordable or social housing units, which will bring services directly to tenants.

Under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, Service Managers can use funding to increase the supply of community housing which addresses local needs and priorities that are consistent with local housing and homelessness plans. This supports the creation of more liveable and inclusive communities.

Under the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, affordability assistance is tied to the household, not to a physical housing unit. This allows the benefit to move with the household to any area in Ontario.  As a result, recipients have more flexibility to choose where they live to be closer to family, social support networks, schools and employment opportunities. It also provides Service Managers with the opportunity to create more vibrant mixed-income communities due to a greater ability to diversify their housing options.

Promoting accessibility, environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and local employment benefits

Investments under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative will result in improvements to community housing building systems which will help decrease the amount that housing providers spend on utilities and energy, and result in more accessible and comfortable living accommodations for tenants. By reducing operating costs, housing providers will have more funds available to put towards other initiatives, such as tenant engagement or repairs. Eligible work under the Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative also includes carrying out health and safety repairs, including accessibility renovations.

Repairs to social housing under this initiative will provide employment through local companies in municipalities across Ontario, with local employment benefits continuing into the future as the installed building systems, such as heating and cooling, require ongoing maintenance from local companies.

A key objective of the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative is to incorporate energy efficiency into affordable housing units and building design. Through the program guidelines, Service Managers are encouraged to prioritize projects that include the use of energy efficient features. Ontario also encourages the use of energy-saving products and systems for repairs in affordable and social housing through the program guidelines. Under the Rental Housing component, recommended projects are expected to maximize achievable reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions relative to minimum requirements (i.e. meet or exceed the current National Energy Code and Ontario Building Code requirements for new construction; for renovations/repairs; maximize the achievable energy savings where possible when planning work or retrofits). Under the Ontario Renovates component, eligible activities include repairs and rehabilitation required to bring a home/unit to an acceptable standard while improving energy efficiency, including repairs of heating systems, doors and windows, roofs, walls, floors and ceilings. Ontario also strongly encourages the use of energy-saving products or systems for the required repairs to housing under the Ontario Renovates component such as ENERGY STAR certified products.

Under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, an objective of the Ontario Renovates component is to foster independent living of seniors and person with disabilities by providing financial assistance to support modifications and renovations to increase accessibility of affordable rental and ownership properties. The Home Repair sub-component includes assistance for low and moderate income homeowner households to increase accessibility of their home through modifications and adaptations. The Multi-Unit Rehabilitation sub-component includes assistance for landlords of eligible rental buildings and community housing providers to rehabilitate units that require essential repairs and/or modify units to increase accessibility.

Regarding local employment benefits, under the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, Service Managers will be required to prioritize and track community employment benefits for large rental projects. In addition, under the Ontario Renovates component, Service Managers are encouraged to give priority consideration to projects that provide community employment benefits, including work contracts for small and medium-sized businesses and job creation for apprentices, Indigenous Peoples, women in construction, veterans and newcomers to Canada.

Each Service Manager is required to develop an Investment Plan that outlines how the annual Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative and Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative funding allocations will be used over the first three-year funding period (2019-20 to 2021-22). The Investment Plan includes a description of how the program components chosen by the Service Manager, including capital components, will address the needs identified in the Service Manager’s housing and homelessness plan. Ontario will work with its delivery partners to collect data on targets, indicators and outcomes outlined in the Bilateral Agreement, including those related to accessibility, environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and local employment benefits.


Footnotes

  • footnote[1] Back to paragraph Service Manager local housing and homelessness plans identify and address a broad range of housing and homelessness needs in their communities, which can include vulnerable sub-populations identified in the National Housing Strategy: Seniors, Indigenous peoples, peoples with disabilities, women and girls, particularly those fleeing situations of domestic violence, veterans, visible minorities, people suffering from mental illness or substance dependence, and individuals and families experiencing homelessness.