On December 19, 2019, the federal and provincial governments announced the signing of an Addendum to the Bilateral Agreement that included the program design parameters for the COHB program. The COHB program is a provincially delivered, joint $1.46 billion federal provincial housing allowance program. The program helps to increase the affordability of rental housing for eligible households in housing need that are on, or are eligible to be on, social housing waiting lists by providing a direct income tested portable housing benefit.

Eligible COHB applicants will receive a monthly housing benefit issued directly to households by the Ministry of Finance and recipients will be subject to an annual review process. Households deemed eligible for benefits under this program must consent to be removed from the social housing waiting list of their local Service Manager.

All households receiving assistance under the Portable Housing Benefit-Special Priority Policy (PHB-SPP) program will continue to be eligible for funding until June 2020 and will transition to the COHB program through the renewal process in May 2020 for the July 2020 to June 2021 benefit year.

Windsor Essex Housing Needs

Based on the findings from the Home Together, Windsor Essex Housing and Homelessness Master Plan (HHMP) approved by City Council on December 2, 2019 (CR612/2019), there is an anticipated increase in population growth and projected demographic changes that indicate the need for both affordable rental housing and affordable ownership housing in Windsor and Essex County. This need is expected to grow between 2019 and 2028. The Windsor Essex housing market has changed since 2014 with a decline in the availability of affordable housing. Average rents and house prices have steadily increased and vacancy rates have dropped dramatically from a high of 20% some years ago to 3.0% at the end of 2018, with vacancy rates in the rental housing market falling to historical lows.

A critical issue facing Windsor Essex, as described by stakeholders during the consultation process for the HHMP is a significant lack of affordable rental housing. A suggested strategy put forward by stakeholders was streamlining the rent subsidy process. Rent supplement administrators and recipients have expressed that engaging with landlords under various rent supplement streams has been challenging under the current rental housing market in Windsor Essex. As the WEHB and COHB are paid directly to the household and are not tied to a specific tenancy or unit it removes the barrier of having to engage with landlords in order to receive a rent subsidy. Implementation of the WEHB and COHB aligns with goal one of the HHMP to “sustain