Appendix C

SH notification

social housing

New Ontario Regulation 316/19 “Determination of Geared-to-Income Rent under Section 50 of the Act” under the Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA) to simplify the calculation of rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance.

Amendments to Ontario Regulation 367/11 “General” under the HSA to support RGI simplification.

• Legisiation/Regulation

• Operational

September 23, 2019

Release: 19—09

The purpose of this notification is to provide an overview of the new Ontario Regulation 316/19 that will replace Ontario Regulation 298/01 and of regulatory amendments to Ontario Regulation 367/11 to support RGI simplification.

The province is implementing a suite of changes to the RGi calculation to make calculating rent simpler for Service Managers and housing providers and easier for tenants to predict and understand. To do this, Ontario Regulation 298/01 is being revoked and replaced with Ontario Regulation 316/19, in-force July 1, 2020.

Ontario Regulation 367/11 is being amended to change some of the eligibility rules for RGI assistance, and make consequential changes to align, where practical, the portable housing benefit framework with the changes to the RGI calculation.

What is changing?

Several changes have been made to the RGI calculation and related processes. Examples include:

• RGI calculation will be a simplified, annual process based on 30 percent of adjusted family net income determined, where possible, by the household members’ net income amounts in their notices of assessment for the relevant taxation year, subject to certain adjustments.

• A household member’s net income may be calculated differently depending on when rent is being reviewed. In some instances, net income may be based on a projection of net income for the next 12 months in situations where income tax return information is not available or where it does not accurately reflect the current financial position of a household member.

• A review of a household’s RGI rent must be conducted every 12 months.

• In-year reviews may only be completed under specific circumstances (e.g., permanent change in household composition, a decrease in income of 20% or a change in full-