THE 3. ABOUT PHB

A PHB is a monthly subsidy (housing allowance) provided to a low-income household to assist with housing costs. Unlike other forms of housing assistance such as rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance, the PHB is tied to the household and not to a physical housing unit, allowing the benefit to move with the household to any Service Manager area in Ontario. As a result, recipients have more flexibility to choose where they live to be closer to family, social support networks, schools and employment opportunities.

A PHB has multiple benefits for recipients:

• It gives people on a social housing waiting list a potential option to receive a housing benefit that would give them more flexibility and choice about where they live, so they could choose to live closer to employment, child care, schools or family.

• It may help applicants who like where they are living but face affordability challenges to remain where they live.

• The PHB calculation is simple and is reassessed annually using income tax information. Recipients have an incentive to earn income since they are not required to report increases in income between annual renewals, and so will not experience a decrease in assistance for earning more income.

PHBs also provide Service Managers with the opportunity to create more vibrant mixed-income communities due to a greater ability to diversify their housing options.