Selection of a Household for a Vacant RGI Unit (H-15-01)

Date: January 16, 2015

This Directive is to be implemented by Housing Providers listed under the following programs in Schedule 1 of Ontario Regulation 367/11:

• 1 (a) – Local Housing Corporation
• 2 (a) and 2 (b) – Rent Supplement Programs
• 6 (a) – Non-Profit Program
• 6 (b) – Non-Profit Co-Op Program

Directives archived and replaced with this directive

• Directive H-13-04, Selection of a household for a vacant unit

Background

The Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA), section 47, requires Service Managers to have a system for selecting households for vacant rent-geared-to-income (RGI) units.  The system must comply with the prescribed requirements set out in Ontario Regulation 367/11, section 47.

Action to be taken

When Housing Providers have a vacancy within its portfolio, they must determine if the unit is to be rented as a market unit or an RGI unit as required to meet their targeting plan.

This Directive applies only to vacant units which will be rented as an RGI unit in accordance with the HSA. Listed below are three rules a Provider must follow:

1. Select Waiting List: The Housing Provider may determine if the vacancy will be offered to households on the Centralized Waiting List (CWL) or the Housing Provider’s Internal Transfer List (ITL) and once determined the Housing Provider must continue to offer the unit to households on the list until the unit is accepted or the list is exhausted.  The Housing Provider may not switch between the CWL and the ITL while offering the same unit.
2. Special Priority: Once the Housing Provider has decided which waiting list (CWL or ITL) will be used, they must offer the unit to Special Priority (SP) households eligible for the unit in chronological order on that list.
3. If the Housing Provider has decided to offer the unit to households on the CWL and the unit is not accepted by the SP household, then the Housing Provider may offer the unit to households on the CWL in chronological order after SP.

Housing Providers must forward the “Notice of Acceptance of an RGI Unit” form along with all “Notice of Refusal of an RGI Unit by Household” forms to the Social Housing Registry for each offer as set out in Directive H-13-05, Offers and Refusals of an RGI Unit by Households.

Housing Providers must keep full and complete records of the offers and the method used to select a household for the vacant unit.  As such, Housing Providers must print and keep a hard copy of the filtered waiting list (CWL or ITL) used to offer the vacant unit with notations of each offer including the date and the response.

The Service Manager will review the hard copies of the waiting lists used to offer units, as part of an Operation Review or as may be required from time to time.

Reference

• Housing Services Act, 2011, section 47 – System for selecting waiting households
• Ontario Regulation 367/11, section 47 - System requirement – Selection of RGI households for vacant units
• Directive H-13-05, Offers and Refusals of an RGI Unit by Households

Sheldon Laidman, MCIP RPP
Director, Housing & Social Services Department

The following have received a copy of this Directive:

• Lanie Hurdle, Commissioner, Community Services
• Jannette Amini, County of Frontenac
• Susan Nicholson, Director, Legal Services & City Solicitor
• Housing Programs Administrators, Housing & Social Services Department

If you have any questions, please contact a Housing Programs Administrator, Housing and Social Services Department.