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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
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i. Waiting times for chronological households applying in 2015 were estimated
by calculating how many years it would take for these households to be housed
by considering how many chronological households would be housed each year
into the future, and how many applications from chronological households with
earlier application dates than those applying in 2015 would be cancelled each
year. The above was calculated based on the following assumptions: 1. the fig-
ures for each of the following are assumed to be consistent with 2015 figures
into the future: number of chronological households housed; number of can-
celled chronological applications; number of priority applications. 2. Cancelled
applications are assumed to be equally distributed by application date.
WAITING LIST CHANGES
In 2015, households that received priority
designations under Ontario’s Special Priority
Policy (SPP) because they were escaping
domestic violence waited an average of
9 months before they were offered RGI
housing. Because of these delays, ONPHA
has recommended that the Ontario
Government introduce a separate system
of housing assistance for these families.
Earlier this year, the Province announced
they are piloting a special housing benefit
for households fleeing domestic violence
that will make it possible for them to receive
assistance more quickly and allow for greater
choice in where they want to live.
NEW APPLICANTS FACE
EVEN LONGER WAITS
Because fewer units become available each
year, an applicant joining the waiting list
in 2015 will wait longer than an applicant
housed in 2015 would have waited for their
home. While the average wait time for
chronological applicants housed in 2015
was 3.9 years, households that submitted
applications for RGI housing last year will
wait an average of 5.2 years before they are
housed. In urban, high-demand regions of
Ontario, the predicted wait time for recent
applicants is as high as 14 years.
i
NOW
2015
Number of households on
waiting lists in:
2015
171,360
Seniors:
32%
Families:
31%
Single adults
and couples:
37%
Proportion (%) by household type, 2015
Average wait times for chronological
applicants in 2015
Seniors:
4.4 years
Families:
3.7 years
Single adults
and couples:
3.9 years