Eligibility
Before applying for a housing subsidy, The District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board (TBDSSAB) encourages applicants to confirm their eligibility. Eligible households Include:
- Families of all types
- Senior Citizens
- Single Individuals
- Couples
- Unrelated Individuals sharing a dwelling
- Two (2) or more Families sharing a dwelling
A household is eligible for Rent-Geared-to-Income assistance if:
- At least one (1) household member is sixteen (16) years of age or older and able to live independently. This means that the household member must be able to either perform the essential activities of day-to-day living by himself or herself, or be able to live independently with the aid of certain support services. (Documentation will be required)
- In the case of projects with a mandate to house senior citizens, at least one (1) household member is sixty-five (65) years of age, sixty (60) years of age or older, or fifty (50) years of age for some projects
- Each household member is a Canadian Citizen, has been granted status as a permanent resident under the Immigration Act(Canada), or is a refugee claimant under the Immigration Act (Canada).
- No deportation order under the Immigration Act(Canada) has been made against any household member.
- In the case of a household other than a household with special priority status, no member of the household owes arrears either of rent or of money owed as a result of damage caused by a member of the household with respect to any housing project under any housing program, whether administered by the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board or the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (Ministry).
- In the case of a household with special priority status, no member of the household owes arrears either in rent or of money owed as a result of damage caused by a member of the household with respect to any housing project under any housing program, whether administered by the District of Thunder Bay Social Services Administration Board or the Ministry, unless in the case of arrears owed in respect of a unit of which the member and the abusing individual are joint tenants:
- Prior tenants are required to pay 50% toward the total amount of arrears owing and enter into a repayment agreement in order to re-apply for RGI housing.
- No household member has been convicted by a court of law or found by an administrative tribunal (Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal) to be misrepresenting their income for the purposes of Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) assistance.
- Household members have applied for specified forms of assistance for which they may be eligible.
- These sources of income are limited to Ontario Works, divorce or support payments, Employment Insurance, government pensions, and support from a sponsor under the Immigration Act(Canada).
- Household members have divested interest in residential property within 180 days of receiving RGI assistance. In the case of other important circumstances, the TBDSSAB will allow housing providers to approve extensions of up to 2 years of receiving RGI assistance.
Annually, once every 12 month period after a household is determined to be eligible for RGI assistance, Intake & Eligibility shall review the eligibility of the household and shall determine whether the household continues to be eligible for RGI assistance.
Local Occupancy Standards have been developed to guide housing providers in the determination of the appropriate size of unit a household may be eligible for. Click here to review the Local Occupancy Standards that have been approved by the TBDSSAB.
