Amendments to Ontario Regulation 367/11 General
On September 23, 2019, the province released three (3) amendments to Ontario Regulation 367/11 GENERAL. The three (3) amendments to the Regulation were in connection with:
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Providers Refusal to Offer;
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Tenant Transfers Between Housing Providers; and
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Refusal of Offer, Household Preferences & Occupancy Standard Local Rules.
The new regulation:
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Gives community housing providers the authority to refuse to re-house a household based on a previous eviction for a serious criminal offence;
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Requires applicants to prioritize their housing selection preference(s) and accept the first unit offered;
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Gives Service Managers and housing providers more flexibility to efficiently manage tenant transfers; and
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Changes the rules that govern the calculation of RGI to make it more fair, easier for tenants to understand, and simpler for staff to administer.
Bill 204 – 2021 Residential Rent Freeze
On October 1, 2020, the Helping Tenants and Small Businesses Act, 2020 received Royal Assent but has not yet come into force. The Act will amend the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 ( the “ RTA ” ), and provide for a residential rent freeze for the calendar year 2021, subject to specified exceptions, to give the vast majority of Ontario tenants some relief and financial security as we continue to recover from the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The amendments set the 2021 rent increase guideline to zero per cent and freeze annual rent increases starting January 1, 2021 through to December 31, 2021.
The intent of this report is to provide an overview of the changes and further outline how the changes affect social housing providers, tenants in social housing units, and applicants for social housing that access the Central Housing Registry Windsor Essex County ( “ CHR-WEC ” ) waitlist.
Discussion:
The changes to the Regulations under the HSA have prompted many changes to our social housing delivery system. The legislative changes have an affect on our social housing providers, tenants currently living in social housing, as well as current and prospective applicants to the CHR- WEC’s centralized social housing waitlist. This report will also serve to highlight the changes and the impact these legislative changes have had on the administration of our social housing delivery system in Windsor Essex