Housing in Ontario

Ontario’s housing priority

We want to help cities, towns and rural communities grow with a mix of ownership and rental housing types that meet the needs of all Ontarians.

Housing supply progress and innovation guides

We’ve taken transformative action to increase Ontario’s housing supply, keeping costs down and removing barriers to home construction. Read our housing innovation guides to learn how to use innovative approaches to find or build different types of homes.

Our housing supply action plans outline our priority to take transformative action to keep costs down and remove barriers to home construction. Read our housing innovation guides to learn how to use innovative approaches to find or build different types of homes.

Rental housing

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 sets out landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities. It also sets out rules for landlords and tenants.

Social (or community) housing

Social housing (sometimes known as community housing) is government-assisted housing that provides lower cost rental units to households with low-to-moderate incomes and can include:

• public housing (owned directly or indirectly by service managers)
• not-for-profit and co-operative housing
• rent supplement programs (often in the private market)
• rural and urban Indigenous housing (owned by Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services)

Supportive housing

Supportive housing refers to a combination of housing assistance and support services that enable people to live as independently as possible in their community.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing funds supportive housing programs which are focused on people that are experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, including Indigenous people living off-reserve. The Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services also fund a variety of supportive housing programs.

Addressing homelessness

Learn about programs and strategies to prevent homelessness and help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Find housing

Get in touch with your municipality

Service managers are designated municipalities in southern Ontario and district social services administration boards in northern Ontario that oversee affordable housing, social housing, and homelessness prevention programs across the province, including supportive housing funded by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. They use provincial funding to meet local housing needs through programs and services including rent supplements.

Find your local service manager to see what housing supports are available in your community.

Indigenous program administrators

If you are an Indigenous person living off-reserve, you may also wish to contact one of the Indigenous program administrators:

• Miziwe Biik Development Corporation, which serves the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
• Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, which serves regions outside of the GTA

Survivors of abuse and trafficking

If you are a survivor of abuse or trafficking, your local service manager may be able to help you find housing in your community. Survivors may be able to receive:

• priority placement in a rent-geared-to-income social housing unit (if eligible for both rent-geared-to-income assistance and the Special Priority Policy)
• a direct, monthly benefit to help pay your rent (if eligible for the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit program)
• other local or municipal portable housing benefits

Resources to find housing

• Get settled in Ontario (for newcomers)
• A guide to programs and services for seniors
• Soldiers’ Aid Commission