Posts Tagged ‘Supportive housing’

Province plans to make legislative changes that will help transitional housing providers

May 26th, 2017 by Claudia Pedrero

Bill 124, the proposed Rental Fairness Act, 2017 passed its third reading in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario last week. This bill has received significant attention in the past few weeks for the important changes it could make to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the RTA).

The press has focussed on the fact that Bill 124, if passed into law, will increase rent controls to include units built after 1991 and require landlords who want to take over a unit for their own use to compensate a tenant or provide them an alternate unit.

However, there is another important change to the RTA which deserves attention: those providing transitional housing and rehabilitative or therapeutic services will be exempt from the RTA for tenancies that lasts four years or less.

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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.

 

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.

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Client Profile: Mainstay Housing

July 29th, 2013 by Iler Campbell

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Mainstay Housing is a non-profit agency working with people who live with mental health and addiction issues and who are deeply affected by poverty.  Mainstay provides housing and ongoing support and opportunities to be part of a community.  Mainstay’s rents are geared-to-incomes and are subsidized by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.  Tenants live independently in a variety of housing options with flexible support from Mainstay’s supportive housing workers.  Mainstay is the single largest non-profit provider of supportive housing in Ontario with 1100 residents living in 867 households of singles, couples and families in 41 residential locations across Toronto.  In addition, Mainstay has 88 additional apartments in the private rental market.  Professional staff, from caretakers and maintenance workers, to admin and support staff, work together to ensure the properties Mainstay’s tenants call home are safe, quality places to live.

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