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20 1 6 WA I T I NG L I S T S S URV E Y R E POR T
APPENDIX B:
Glossary of terms
Active households:
Households on waiting lists that have been deemed eligible for rent-geared-to-income (RGI)
housing, including those currently “on offer” for a unit. Active households include households that
have submitted new applications between January 1 and December 31, 2015, and households that
have maintained their application by responding to any service manager requests for information.
Applicant:
A household, consisting of one individual living alone or two or more individuals living together, that
has applied for RGI housing.
Applicant Category/Status:
Applicant status refers to categories used to rank applicants on centralized waiting lists. There are
three main categories:
Special Priority Policy (SPP) – Legislated first under the Social Housing Reform Act and now under
the Housing Services Act, the SPP gives priority status to households with a member who has been a
victim of domestic violence.
Local Priority – Service managers are allowed to create Local Priority categories for RGI housing.
These priority categories are based on local households that are in high need, such as households that
are homeless, newcomers, or youth, or require a medical transfer, as well as other needs. Applicants
with Local Priority status are housed after SPP applicants, but before chronological applicants. In
some cases, service managers may create additional rules, reserving every one in 10 RGI vacancies
for households with Local Priority.
Chronological – Applicants who are ranked on the centralized waiting list based on their date of
application.