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Chatham

Changes coming for geared-to-income housing wait-lists

People on wait-lists for rent-geared-to-income housing will soon have to take what they are offered or risk being ineligible for housing.

New regulatory changes by the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing dictate that anyone on a pre-specified Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) centralized wait-list who refuses the housing when it's made available, will no longer be eligible for RGI assistance.

Beth Earley, program manager for Chatham-Kent Housing Services, said the hope is that the new rule will improve the wait-list process.

“Requiring applicants to accept the first offer of RGI assistance may help provide units for households with the greatest need more quickly and it may reduce vacancy time when units turn over," she said.

Currently, households have to refuse a minimum of three offers to become ineligible for RGI. Earley said there a variety of reasons someone may refuse a housing offer.

"With the wait-list now, it may be up to five years [for housing to become available]," explained Earley. "When they initially apply, their circumstances may be different than when they get an offer five years later. They may not want an area of the municipality that they [previously] selected or their family size may have changed. Any number of things."

As of November 30, 2019, there were 1,000 active households on Chatham-Kent’s RGI centralized wait-list. Under the new regulation, households will still continue to have the option to select appropriately sized units from 13 private non-profit social housing providers, municipally-owned public housing and privately owned units offered through rent supplement agreements.

The reduction in allowable refusals will come into effect for Chatham-Kent on February 1, 2020. It will apply to all households on the centralized wait-list, including special priority applicants. The rule will not apply to offers of portable housing benefits.

In November, Chatham-Kent Housing Services notified RGI applicants of the change by mail and requested that they contact the Housing Services office to review or update their unit selections. Earley emphasized the importance of reviewing housing selections for applicants seeking RGI assistance.

"We really encourage any of the household that are on our wait-list, that they take the time to contact housing services or visit our website and review their housing selections," she said.

Earley added that applicants need "to be sure that they've made selections that will be appropriate for their circumstances and that they are not on the list for anything that would cause them to get a refusal."

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