Ottawa: Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), on Monday announced Temporary Rental Assistance funding of up to $15 million to assist former federally administered social housing projects whose operating agreements expired prior to April 1, 2016.
The funding will support these housing organizations and provide affordable accommodation to persons and families of low income.
CMHC’s Temporary Rental Assistance launches today, February 1, 2021. Temporary Rental Assistance will be offered between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, as exceptional one-time assistance.
A government statement said: “To protect low-income Canadians in housing need, it is important that Canada’s existing social housing stock remains affordable and in good repair. The federal government understands the challenges vulnerable Canadians continue to face and will continue to provide the support they need during these unprecedented times.”
Ahmed Hussen said: “Our Government is taking all the necessary steps to ensure that every Canadian has a safe and affordable place to call home. Thanks to this new funding, we are able to lend a helping hand to families and individuals in need from coast to coast to coast. We remain committed to address housing need across Canada.”
Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for CMHC and Member of Parliament for Spadina — Fort York, Ontario, added: “The Government of Canada is dedicated to helping Canadians have safe and affordable housing that meets their needs. These investments will make a real difference in the lives of many families and individuals across the country and right here in Ontario.
“Community housing plays an invaluable role. It doesn’t just make housing more affordable. It gives families the stability they need to make ends meet and get ahead. It builds diverse communities. Stronger communities that benefit us all.”
Tim Ross, Executive Director, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHFC), said: “We are very pleased by today’s announcement of rental assistance for lowincome households. During the pandemic, it’s become clear that supporting vulnerable individuals and families is more important than ever. We thank Minister Hussen for this funding, and we look forward to continuing to work together to improve housing outcomes for all Canadians.”
•Temporary Rental Assistance is available to providers of non-profit and co-operative housing:
– whose CMHC Operating Agreement ended before April 1, 2016,
– who were administered by either CMHC or the Agency of Cooperative Housing at the time the agreement came to term, and
– who had an agreement under one of the following programs:
º Section 95 (Pre-86) non-profit, co-operative, urban native
º Section 95 (Post-85) non-profit, co-operative, urban native
º Section 95 (Post-85) IndexLinked-Mortgage (ILM) co-operatives
º Section 27, 61 non-profit and co-operatives
º Section 26 non-profit, and
– who have an eligible low-income household in their project.
The Community Housing Transformation Centre (CHTC) is administering this Temporary Rental Assistance on behalf of CMHC for the non-profit housing sector; and the Agency for Co-operative Housing is administering this assistance on behalf of CMHC for the co-operative housing.
The application for Temporary Rental Assistance will open between February 1st and March 1, 2021. Non-profit providers are invited to apply through the CHTC website, while the housing co-operatives are invited to apply through the Agency for Co-operative Housing’s website.
To enroll, an organization must complete an enrolment form and submit it by the deadline. Requests will be reviewed to confirm eligibility. If demand exceeds the maximum funding available, funding allocations will be prioritized. This temporary rental assistance does not offer assurance of continued federal support.
As part of the National Housing Strategy, the Government of Canada is investing $500 million over 10 years under the Federal Community Housing Initiative to protect affordability for residents and stabilize the operations of some 55,000 units of federally administered community housing projects.
Under Phase I of the Federal Community Housing Initiative, federally-administered community housing providers with long-term operating agreements that ended between April 1, 2016, and February 28, 2020, continued to receive the same level of subsidy provided under prior CMHC operating agreements until March 31, 2020.
Phase 2 of the Federal Community Housing Initiative established a new rental assistance program for federally administered community housing providers to support affordability for low-income residents and provide additional transitional funding for eligible projects.
CMHC will continue working with the co-operative and non-profit housing sector over the course of the National Housing Strategy to ensure the best outcomes for low-income residents and housing providers.
Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) is a 10-year, $70+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home — this includes more than $13 billion committed through the 2020 Fall Economic Statement.