Housing

Positive developments for Ontario’s non‑profit housing sector

March 14th, 2016 by Celia Chandler

In an announcement today by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister McMeekin, the province announced a number of changes to its Affordable Housing Strategy; these changes will surely work to ease the burden on our overstretched non‑profit housing providers.

Many of these initiatives are ideas that have been kicked around for awhile but haven’t had political support. Inclusionary zoning has been introduced in private members bills a number of times as discussed in our September 2014 rabble article. We’re pleased to see that McMeekin included it in his announcement today. Although it would be an option for municipalities, not mandatory, it has the potential of a real impact on the number of affordable housing units being built. Beyond just the need for more affordable units, the need for more and better supportive housing is paramount as is the need for Ontarions to be able to move their housing subsidies from landlord to landlord – and today’s announcement makes commitments in these areas too. Subsidized housing providers will be thrilled to know that the province recognises that the current process of calculating rent‑geared‑to‑income is cumbersome and that there are plans to simplify the formula.

Take a read of the summary of the province’s announcement. And stay tuned to our blog for more information as the province’s plans become concrete.

 

Ontario Human Rights Tribunal awards $30,000 in compensation to several housing co‑op members

March 10th, 2016 by Shelina Ali

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal released an 87 page decision last week awarding the ten applicants, all members of a Scarborough housing co‑operative, $30,000 in compensation.   The applicants each brought applications against the housing co‑operative and its board of directors for failing to address harassing conduct towards the applicants by another member of the housing co‑operative. While the board members and co‑operative did not engage in the harassment, the Tribunal found that it was still liable for failing to address the conduct.

We are still awaiting the release of the decision, and will write more about the Tribunal’s findings once it’s available.  News coverage of the decision can be found here.

 

Vote co-op housing – you hold the key

October 7th, 2015 by Iler Campbell

CHF Canada has launched a campaign calling on co-op housing supporters to help make the future of affordable co-op housing an issue in the federal election. On votecoophousing.ca they write:

Federal and provincial funding agreements that assist more than 20,000 low-income households living in co-operative housing with their rents are coming to an end in large numbers. Unless governments agree to help, the co‑ops where these low-income Canadians live will be unable to offer them affordable rents based on their incomes.

They’re calling on voters to call on their candidates for their support, share their co-op housing stories and help spread the word. Find out more at votecoophousing.ca

ONPHA Members: Read our just published report on aging tenants

August 26th, 2015 by Iler Campbell

Increasingly, housing providers find themselves in a position where there is a need to intervene in the decision making of elderly tenants with diminished capacity. In a report just published to the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association’s members only website, Lauren Blumas highlights some of the common challenges housing providers face with aging tenants and provides strategies, resources and tips to help housing providers support tenants with diminished mental capacity while managing risk.

If you’re a member you can log on here to read the report.

What’s next in housing? Getting ready for the 2015 election

July 2nd, 2015 by Safia Lakhani

This post was first published on rabble.ca

Toronto’s housing crisis is well documented: the skyrocketing and prohibitive cost of rent, the lack of funding for repairs to community housing structures, and the growing wait list for affordable housing are just a few of the issues that have received media attention in the past year.

The facts are equally grim across the country: one in four Canadians spends more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, and an estimated 733,275 low-income Canadians are in extreme housing need, spending more than 50 per cent of their income on housing. Over 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year, and some 365,000 households are at risk of rent increases or eviction as a result of the end of operating agreements.

Continue reading “What’s next in housing? Getting ready for the 2015 election”

Landlord and Tenant Board panel aims to define legal relationships between indirect housing providers, landlords and tenants

January 27th, 2015 by Celia Chandler

Thousands of Ontarians live in affordable housing units provided to them by non-profit organizations but which are owned by private sector landlords. The nature of the legal relationship between these three parties is unsettled: a few cases have addressed it but there has been no consistency in the decisions.  In large measure, the parties have worked around the lack of clarity in the law without the assistance of the Landlord and Tenant Board (the LTB).  The nature of the relationship, however, has come to a head in a couple of cases now before the LTB, both involving Toronto based providers of supportive housing to tenants with mental health disabilities.

Continue reading “Landlord and Tenant Board panel aims to define legal relationships between indirect housing providers, landlords and tenants”