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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
5
At the same time, all levels of government
have begun exploring financial assistance
options beyond RGI housing. The Federal-
Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing
Program, for example, offers decision makers
a range of options to meet community
needs, including rent supplements that can
be directed to private landlords and housing
allowances that are paid directly to households
to help them afford their rent
10
. A number
of service managers have created their own
programs to help subsidize the cost of rent
and utilities.
New, flexible models of housing assistance are
emerging, and housing policies and programs
are increasingly tailored to local contexts.
Data from RGI waiting lists only measures
demand for one kind of housing assistance: it
doesn’t accurately reflect the depth of housing
need in Ontario, or the various other ways in
which people are getting help with housing
costs in their communities. With this in mind,
we have decided that the 2016 ONPHA
Waiting Lists Survey Report will be the final
report in the series.
We set out on this journey to raise awareness
of the need for affordable rental housing using
accurate and previously unavailable data.
In 2003, mentions of “affordable housing”
– and the social and economic benefits it
generates – were absent from newspapers
and politicians’ platforms. But over the past
decade, the cost of housing in Ontario has
emerged as a key policy is issue.
10.
For a more detailed explanation of rent supplement programs and housing allowances see: ONPHA,
Making Ends Meet: Opportunities and Challenges of Rental
Assistance Programs
, September 2015.
Funding for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing
flows from the federal, provincial, and municipal
governments, primarily through agreements
written before 1995. In Ontario, responsibility for
administering this funding and delivering other
housing programs rests with 47 municipal and
regional governments. These governments are
formally known as Consolidated Municipal Service
Managers and District Social Services Administration
Boards (“service managers”), and are also in charge of
managing housing waiting lists.
The federal government has not committed to
additional funding for RGI housing after their
current agreements expire. As these agreements
end, federal funding for RGI housing will decrease
by approximately $500 million annually until it ends
in 2033. However, the Trudeau Government has
signaled its intent to reinvest in housing through the
creation of a National Housing Strategy.
Aside from RGI housing, the federal and provincial
governments provide time-limited funding for
other housing initiatives through the Investment
in Affordable Housing Program, the Community
Homelessness Prevention Initiative, and the
Homelessness Partnering Strategy. The Ontario
Government also provides the policy framework for
housing through the Long-Term Affordable Housing
Strategy and the Ontario Housing Policy Statement.
RGI HOUSING –
WHO DOES WHAT?