housing should be prioritized as the first option. Where no community housing options exist, vulnerable households can receive the PHB in the private rental market.
This second priority group includes:
• Households living in community housing that are not receiving affordability support (e.g., rent supplements, housing allowances); and
• Households no longer receiving financial assistance as a result of expiring federal-provincial programs or social housing operating agreements/mortgages.
Service Managers will be responsible for identifying potential households to apply for the COHB program with consideration for the priority groups listed above. Service Managers are encouraged to work with their local MCCSS regional offices, Developmental Services Ontario offices and local service provider agencies to identify people to apply for the COHB program.
4.4 Eligibility Criteria: New Applicants
Household members must meet the following criteria to be eligible to begin receiving a COHB benefit:
• Reside permanently in Ontario;
• Either:
- A Canadian citizen,
- A permanent resident,
- has made an application for status as a permanent resident under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), or
- has made a claim for refugee protection under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) and no removal order has become enforceable under that Act against the member;
• Be on a social housing waiting list; or eligible to be on such a waiting list, or living in community housing;
• Not be in receipt of, or part of a household in receipt of, RGI assistance, a COHB benefit, or any other government-funded housing benefit, with the exception of social assistance shelter payments;
• Consent to being removed from the social housing waiting list of the Service Manager where the application was completed and approved;
• Not reside in a home suitable for year-round occupancy (within or outside Ontario) owned by a member of the household within 90 days of being determined eligible. (See 4.6 "Owning a Home" below); and
• Has applied for the COHB program and provided all necessary information for the calculation of the benefit.
Note: For the purposes of this program, household members at intake include each individual on the application for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance (if applicable). The applicant's spouse or partner must be included if they will be living together. All household members must live at the same address to receive a COHB benefit. If an applicant is sharing his or her home with an individual that is not a household member as described above (e.g., friend or roommate), the individual is not included as a household member.
No member of a household receiving a COHB benefit may receive, or be part of a household that receives, RGI assistance, more than one COHB benefit, or another government-funded housing benefit