Affordable rent

Eligibility

Income

Under the Affordable Housing Program, affordable housing rental units are given only to those households that meet the specified program income criteria before the household’s move-in date. Under the terms of our agreement with the City of Toronto, Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) must confirm the applicant’s income is at or below the initial income limit.

This means that an applicant's household's net income must be at or below four times the annualized monthly rent for the affordable housing rental unit.

Monthly rent is the total monthly rent payable to TCHC for a unit. It does not include charges for parking, cable, internet, telephone or any other like charges.

Utilities (hydro, heat, water, and hot water) may or may not be included in the monthly rent and will be indicated in vacancy postings. If hydro, heat, water, or hot water costs are separately metered and paid to the utility provider directly by the household, the monthly rent will be reduced by a utility allowance determined by the City of Toronto. This allowance is published on the City’s website.

Initial income limit means a household’s net income that is at or below four times the annualized monthly rent for the affordable housing rental unit that the household is applying for.

Calculation Guide

For affordable housing rentals, Toronto Community Housing only documents and determines the household income once. This happens before the household moves into the affordable housing rental unit.

To calculate eligibility for, please refer to the following calculation guide:

If the rent is $1,500 per month, the maximum annual household income limit to be eligible for the unit is, $1,500 x 4 x 12 Months = $72,000. Therefore, the applicant's annual household income must be at $72,000 or less to meet the income criteria for this example. 

Note: The total household income is calculated by adding the income of all members of the household who are aged 16 years or older. Members who are attending a Recognized Educational Institution as a full-time student would be excluded from the household income. A “Recognized Educational Institution” means:

• a school, as defined in the Education Act, RSO 1990, c E 2 (the “Education Act”);
• a university;
• a college of applied arts and technology established under the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002, c 8 Sched. F.;
• a private career college, as defined in the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005, SO 2005, c 28 Sched. L; or
• a private school, as defined in the Education Act, for which a notice of intention to operate has been submitted to the Ministry of Education in accordance with that Act.

Additional eligibility criteria

In addition to the Initial Income Limit, households must meet the following eligibility criteria:

• At least one member of the household is 16 years of age or older and able to live independently, with or without support services. Where the person requires support services to live independently, the person must be able to prove that the services will be provided where/when necessary.
• Each member of the household is:
  • a Canadian citizen,
  • a permanent resident of Canada or has applied for permanent resident status, or
  • a refugee claimant or Convention refugee.
• No Removal Order has become enforceable against any member of a household. A Removal Order means you cannot legally remain in Canada, and you must leave the country.
• Each household member must be in Good Standing. A household is in Good Standing when no member of the household owes any money to Toronto Community Housing or any other social housing provider in Ontario in relation to any current or former tenancy. If any money is owing:
  • the household member(s) has executed a repayment agreement with the social housing provider prior to applying for affordable housing;
  • the household member(s) is, and has consistently been, in compliance with that repayment agreement (as well as paying the current rent if the household member(s) is currently housed with a social housing provider in Ontario); and
  • if the household member(s) is a current tenant or occupant of TCHC, TCHC cannot be taking any legal action against the relevant tenancy. For example, TCHC cannot be pursuing an application to terminate the tenancy and evict the person at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

TCHC will consider applicants to be in Good Standing if they have been making all required payments to their repayment plan in full and on time for half of the length of their Repayment Agreement. For example: if the Agreement is for 18 months, applicants must provide proof of payment in full and on time for nine months in a row.

• If a member of a household has an ownership interest in residential property that can be lived in year-round, the household is not eligible for an affordable housing rental unit. This includes property owned alone or with others, legal or beneficial property, and properties both inside and outside of Canada.
• TCHC will also conduct Landlord Reference checks and Credit checks as part of the eligibility review process.

Eligibility for accessible affordable rental units

TCHC must fill modified or barrier-free units with applicants who need these units and meet the eligibility requirements. 

If the household wants to rent a modified or barrier-free unit, the applicant’s functional abilities and/or restrictions must require the specific modification of that unit.

Applicants must include their accessibility needs directly on the application. They must be able to provide medical documentation supporting their requirements, if requested.

TCHC will always work with its tenants to determine what their accessibility needs are and how it can accommodate them.

Eligibility by size of unit

Unit size (number of bedrooms) is determined by the social housing Local Occupancy Standards set by the City of Toronto. To qualify, each household member can have a bedroom. This excludes spouses and common law partners, as they are required to share a bedroom. No more than two people are allowed per bedroom.

Vacancies

Please visit this page regularly to check for current availabilities and updates. Application processes are subject to change, and updates will be posted on this site.

There are no units available currently. Please check back soon.

TCHC’s existing portfolio of affordable housing rental units   

Toronto Community Housing maintains waitlists by building for its existing portfolio of affordable housing rental units and given the demand compared to unit availability, TCHC is no longer accepting applications for the waitlist (effective June 18, 2019, until further notice). TCHC will publish vacancies for units that become available on this page if the existing waitlist has been exhausted. 

Vacancies for TCHC’s existing portfolio of affordable rental units will remain published until an applicant that meets the program eligibility criteria is found.

New affordable housing rental units via revitalization projects   

Opportunities for new affordable housing rental units are also made possible through TCHC revitalization projects. TCHC will publish vacancies for newly-constructed affordable housing rental units as they are completed and made available for occupancy. More information on how to apply for these vacancies will be made available prior to the confirmed occupancy date of those buildings. Please visit this page regularly for updates.

Affordable housing rental units at 175 Oak Street

A new building in Regent Park (downtown) will be ready for occupancy in early 2025. This new building is located at 175 Oak Street. It has 24 affordable housing rental units. It is a smoke-free, multi-family, mid-rise building.

You will be able to submit your Expression of Interest using an online form as of Wednesday, November 13, 2024. The deadline to complete the online form will be Friday, December 13, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

Please note that there are eligibility requirements, based on household income, for these units.

Learn more about the 175 Oak units.