Community Housing Centralized Wait List Information Guide

You may be eligible if:

• You are at least 16 years old.
• All members of the household are legal residents of Canada or refugee claimants. You will be required to provide proof of Canadian citizenship (i.e. copy of birth certificate, notice of birth registration, copy of passport etc.)
• No member of the household owes money to any community housing program
• No member of the household is currently under a deportation, departure, or exclusion order to leave Canada.
• No member of the household has been convicted of an offence in relation to RGI assistance or found to have misrepresented their income for the purpose of receiving RGI assistance.
• If you own a home or a principle residence elsewhere, you must agree to sell it in order to receive rent-geared-to- income assistance. The sale must take place within six months of being housed and the proceeds of the sale will be considered in determining ongoing eligibility for RGI (if income from sale is more than $75,000 then RGI eligibility ends).
• When it is closer to the time you are offered housing, you must be able to live independently, with or without support services (which you must arrange). An individual is considered to be able to live independently if he or she is able to perform the normal essential activities of day-today living; or can do so with the aid of support services and demonstrates that those support services will be provided when they are required.

Several housing providers have units that have been modified to accommodate wheelchairs or other equipment because of a physical disability. To be eligible for one of these units you must have the Accessible Unit Request form completed by a medical professional stating what modifications you require. You must be able to live independently in this unit with supports provided by community agencies. It will be up to you to retain these supports.

To request an Accessible Unit Request form please email housingapplications@brantford.ca, or phone 519-759-4150, ext. 6331.

Please look for this symbol ♿️ beside the building selections in the application that indicate what locations have modified units and the size of these units.

It is very important that you keep the information on your file up to date. If we cannot get in touch with you, you may lose your chance for a unit and you may have to reapply, which means going to the bottom of the list.

Yearly Updates
Once a year you will receive an UPDATE form. You must respond by the date indicated on the form or your application will be cancelled and you will need to reapply.

Contact Information Updates
If you change your address or phone number you must let us know within 30 days of the change because we may try to call you or write to you.

Household Member Updates
If the number of people in your household changes you must notify our office. This is important because the number of people in your household determines the number of bedrooms you qualify for. Waiting lists are sorted by bedroom size at each location, so you want to make sure you are on the right waiting list.

Building Selection Updates
If you want to add or delete locations where you want to live, you must notify our office. This is important because if you were offered a building where you do not want to live this would be treated as a refusal.

NOTE: You will only receive one offer of housing.

Cooperatives
Co-operative housing is nonprofit housing but is run by the people that live there who are referred to as members. On a voluntary basis, co-op members work together to share the responsibility of ensuring their housing community is strong and vibrant.
Each co-op has a membership committee that is responsible for the selection of new members. Each co-op elects a Board of Directors from its membership.

Non-Profit Housing
Non-profit housing is not for profit housing, owned and managed by community-based organizations. They have independent Boards of Directors. These community organizations provide affordable housing for people whose income, age, social needs or health needs prevent them from finding adequate housing in the private rental sector.

Brantford Municipal Housing
The City of Brantford owns and manages several sites for families, singles, and seniors.

Rent Supplement
In this program, the Housing Department enters into agreements with private rental landlords for units to be rented to tenants with lower incomes.
Tenants pay a portion of their rent (according to the program they are funded by) and the remainder is paid to the landlord by the Housing Department to subsidize the difference up to the agreed market rent for the unit.

Indigenous Housing
If you are of indigenous ancestry and wish to apply for Indigenous Housing please ensure to check off the appropriate box of the application form. Brantford Native Housing will have access to your application and information online.

Before being offered housing you may be required to pursue income from one or more of the following sources:

• Ontario Works
• Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
• Support Payments
• Employment Insurance
• any pension or support payments required under a sponsorship agreement

Failure to pursue a specific type of income within the required time frame will result in a decision of ineligibility for housing.

Rent-geared-to-income (RGI) is based on 30% of your household’s gross monthly income. If you are receiving assistance from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program, rent is based on a social assistance rent scale. Other adjustments may apply that could increase or decrease the rent you pay, such as utilities or parking. This will depend on the location you move into. In co-operatives, residents pay a “housing charge”.

New applications are processed by the Housing Department.

A complete application means that all the documents you must provide are included with your application.

You will be told in writing within 30 business days if your application is complete. If it is not complete we will let you know what information we need.

You have 30 business days to provide the missing information, or your application will be cancelled.

You will receive a letter stating that your application is complete and what waiting lists you qualify for.

If you disagree with anything in the letter you should contact the Housing Department to discuss it. If the issue cannot be resolved, you can request an Internal Review.

Once your application is active on the waiting list:

If you need to update any information in your housing application, please log into your online profile and make relevant changes. If you have not created an online profile, please email housingapplications@brantford.ca or call 519-759-4150 ext. 6331.

Our office is located at 58 Dalhousie Street and our mailing address is:

Housing Applications
Housing and Homelessness Department
City of Brantford
PO Box 818, Brantford, ON N3T 5R7

Yes. You can choose one or many locations. Your application will be added to the waiting lists for each location where you are eligible. Please make sure that the buildings you pick have the unit sizes that you qualify for. The more locations/sites you choose, the faster you are likely to be housed. If you wish to change, add or remove your housing selections, this must be submitted in writing.

You will only receive one offer of housing.

Please make sure you make choices you can live with. If you refuse an offer you will lose your eligibility and place on the waiting list. You must start over, which means you will go to the bottom of the list.

When you are picking the locations where you want to live, you mark the size(s) of units you are applying for. You can choose more than one bedroom size, if it fits for your family.

There can be no less than one person per bedroom. Applicants can choose to have two people share a bedroom. Couples are given one bedroom.

If there is a documented medical need, an extra bedroom will be provided.

The system for selecting households is based primarily on date of application or first come, first served. There are some exceptions.

Special Priority

Special Priority may be given to your application if you are living with someone who threatens your safety or the safety of other household members. Please see the BATH application form for more information on this.

Special Priority applicants are ranked highest on the BATH centralized waiting list. If you are applying for Special Priority you must ALSO complete a Special Priority Application form and have a community professional listed on this form verify your circumstances.

Homeless Priority

Homeless Priority is also given to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. Applicants wishing to apply for Homeless Priority must meet the definition of "homeless" on the BATH application form and must have a qualified community professional verify their circumstances.

Every tenth offer is made to an applicant on the Homeless Priority list.

Since units are rented promptly, housing providers require a daytime telephone number so they can call you when a unit becomes available.

If you cannot be reached during the day, please provide an email that we can use to communicate with you directly and/or the telephone number of an alternate contact person who can be reached during the day that can pass on a message to you.

You will only receive one offer of housing.

If you refuse, your application will be cancelled and you will have to reapply.

Unfortunately, we cannot provide specific wait-times for RGI units as it is impossible to predict how long applicants will have to wait before housing becomes available. The length of time before a unit becomes available varies greatly depending on the locations chosen, the unit size required, and the number of applicants on the centralized housing waiting list.

At last review, estimated wait times for social housing are:

• Seniors aged 60 and older – between 2-4 years
• Families with dependents – between 3-7 years
• Non-senior applicants with no dependents – 8-12 years

Application Deferral

Deferrals are only available at the time of offering and are for up to a maximum of 12 months. In some instances, applicants may request to have their application deferred or placed on "Pending" status for specific reasons i.e. medical, recent lease agreement, etc. You must complete a Request for Deferral form and please be aware that deferrals are granted only once per application.

Many housing providers in Brantford and Brant County have both Rent Geared to Income and Market Rent units in their housing communities. The reason for this mix is so that the housing communities reflect the type of mixed incomes that you would find anywhere in the community.

Market rent is the rent or housing charge that housing providers charge tenants who are not getting a subsidy. The rent is set in comparison to similar rental housing in the area.

The City of Brantford also has several market rent properties. Please complete a “Market Rent” application and your name will be added to the Market Rent list for properties managed by the Brantford Municipal Housing department.

You can also contact other housing providers directly to apply for their market rent units.

You can apply to both the Market Rent and Rent-Geared-to-Income waitlists at the same time. You need to complete the Market Rent (MR) application to get offered a MR unit and can be housed in a MR unit while you wait for an offer to an RGI unit. If you have selected a building that offers both RGI and MR, you will be offered subsidy in your current unit without having to move. If you have accepted a MR unit in a building that does not also have RGI units then you will need to move to the RGI unit when offered. This rule is the same if you accepted a MR unit that is larger than the RGI unit you are eligible for (e.g., if you accepted a 2 bedroom MR unit but are only eligible for a 1 bedroom RGI unit).

What If I Don’t Agree With a Decision That Was Made?

If it is decided you are not eligible for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing, you will be told in writing.

If you do not agree with the decision, you can request an Internal Review of the decision by completing the Request for Internal Review form within 10 business days.

Your case will be reviewed by an Appeal Committee within 10 business days and you will get a letter telling you about the results of your review within seven business days of the decision.

Opportunity to Comment

If information is received that may affect your eligibility for RGI housing, you will be advised in writing. This may be an immediate decision/notice affecting your RGI housing eligibility, or it may be a request for information prior to a decision. If you disagree with the decision, you may ask for an Internal Review of the decision.

Legal Clinic

If you need legal advice you may contact the Community Legal Clinic - Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk, at 1100 Clarence St. South (Suite 203), Brantford, ON at 519-752-8669 or online at https://www.bhnlegalclinic.ca/contact-us/

In Brantford and Brant County there are standards for the number of people who can live in a RGI unit. Generally, there should be at least one person per bedroom (couples are expected to share a bedroom unless there is a medical condition that requires an extra bedroom).

If your household size decreases, you must report the change to your housing provider within 30 days. The change in your household size may mean that you qualify for a smaller sized unit. Your housing provider will tell you this in writing.

Once you receive a notice that you are overhoused, you may stay in your unit for up to one year from the date of becoming overhoused. During this year you may select housing communities where you wish to live that have the appropriate sized unit, or remain on the Internal Transfer waiting list if your provider has the right-sized unit within its portfolio. If your housing provider does not have the right sized unit in their portfolio, you are required to apply to the centralized waitling list within 30 days of receiving the overhoused letter.

After the year is up, you must apply to a minimum of five (5) housing communities (excluding rent supplement buildings) that have the appropriate sized units in the geographical area (i.e. City of Brantford or County of Brant).

After the year is up if you refuse an offer of housing to move to the right sized unit, your rent subsidy will be terminated with ninety (90) days’ notice.

You are free to move to another social housing provider’s project, but your subsidy may not move with you.

If your housing provider determines that you are over housed – too many bedrooms for the size of your household – you will have to move to the proper sized unit. This could be with another community housing provider. If this happens, you will be offered a subsidy from the new housing provider.

If you want to move to another housing provider for other reasons (job location change, etc.), you will have to reapply by completing a new application.

Your name will go on the Wait List for the new locations you selected, based on the date of your new application for housing.

Personal information contained in your application and other documents is collected by the City of Brantford pursuant to the Housing Services Act (2011) and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (1990).

This information may be used to determine eligibility for housing, continuation of housing and the appropriate Rent-Geared-to-Income charge.

With consent, personal information may be shared with housing providers to provide housing assistance, or with other institutions where required or allowed by law.

If you have any questions about the collection and use of personal information, please contact:

Housing Applications - Housing & Homelessness Dept
City of Brantford
PO Box 818, Brantford, ON N3T 5R7
Phone: 519-759-4150
Email: housingapplications@brantford.ca

The following buildings are part of the Brantford-Brant Community Housing Portfolio.

To apply for a unit in any of these buildings, please complete the Community Housing Centralized Wait List application. If you have any questions, please email us at housingapplications@brantford.ca

The following buildings are provided by Housing Providers in Brantford/Brant.

Some providers subscribe to the Centralized Wait List while others do not.

Please follow the chart to determine how to apply for a unit in one of these buildings.