Community housing, also known as Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing
Sometimes called Social or Rent Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing, Community Housing is subsidized, low-cost housing for households with low-to-moderate incomes. The Housing Access Centre, part of Housing Stability Services at the City of London connects eligible households with community housing in London & Middlesex County.
Click here to apply to Rent-Geared-to-Income Housing.
Please refer to the videos below and the other information on this page to learn more about Community Housing. I f you require an application form, let us know and we’ll mail it to you.
In-person assistance is available by visiting the City of London Housing Access Centre at Citi Plaza, 355 Wellington Street Suite 248, 2nd Floor London, ON N6A 3N7.
Important notice
Incomplete applications: The Housing Access Centre is unable to process your application if it is incomplete. You will not be added to the waitlists for your chosen buildings until we have submitted a complete application for your household. To ensure that your application is complete, please follow the instructions in the application carefully and ensure you have included ALL the required documentation with your application. Use the checklist to make sure you have completed all the necessary steps.
Housing wait times: There is a high demand for community housing in London. Wait-times for community housing are lengthy. Wait-time depends on many different factors including application date, urgent status, how many building selections, types of buildings chosen, vacancy rates, unit size, etc. It takes several years in most cases for community housing to become available. In some cases, households have waited for longer than 10 years for housing.
Emergency housing: Community housing is NOT emergency housing. If you are experiencing homelessness, at-risk of homelessness, or living in an unsafe situation, please contact our Coordinated Access Team at 519-661-4663 for support with finding solutions to your housing crisis.
Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit - Portable Housing Benefit (COHB PHB)
Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit - Portable Housing Benefit (COHB PHB)
The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) is a monthly portable housing benefit program that assists eligible households with their housing costs. Eligible households in London are matched to the program which is offered by the Province of Ontario based on program and community priorities. Once the household completed the application process and is approved by the Province, this housing subsidy is paid directly to the household or landlord to support housing affordability and stability within the private rental market. This benefit is portable and can move with a household to any community they choose to live in within Ontario.
The COHB pays the difference between 30% of the household’s income and the average market rent in the area. For recipients of social assistance, the COHB will pay the difference between the shelter allowance and the household’s rent and utilities costs.
A household can use COHB funding to help pay the rent at their current address or they may choose to find a new place to live anywhere in Ontario.
If an individual accepts the COHB benefit, they must agree to be removed from the Centralized Social Housing Waiting List as required by Provincial program guidelines.
Are You Eligible for COHB?
This benefit is not available to the general public.
COHB is referral based program based on direct identification from the Service Manager (City of London) per Provincial program guidelines. If you have been deemed eligible for COHB, you will be contacted by the Housing Access Centre, or its partner agency, inviting you to apply for the program.
For the City of London and Middlesex County, COHB is intended to support the following target groups:
- Survivors of domestic violence or human trafficking;
- Homeless or at risk of homelessness;
- Indigenous persons;
- Seniors; and
- People with Disabilities.
Please Note: Being part of one of the above target groups does not guarantee that you will be matched to the program. The City of London identifies households most in need using the RGI/Community Housing Waitlist and Coordinated Access System.
To be eligible for COHB, a household must meet the following criteria:
- Each member must be a Canadian citizen, landed immigrant or refugee claimant.
- No member of the household has a deportation order, departure or exclusion order under the Immigration Act.
- No member of the household owes arrears for either rent or damage to any community housing provider in Ontario, or they have set-up a repayment agreement which is in good-standing.
- Your household’s annual income must be below the Household income limits for your community.
- Applicants must be able to complete the requirements of the program, including filing taxes on an annual basis, and contacting the Ministry of Finance when their contact information, financial circumstances, or rent amount changes.
- The household must agree to be removed from the RGI/Community Housing waitlist.
For more information about COHB, please review the full report to London City Council.
How Are COHB Benefits Calculated?
The COHB is calculated by using a variety of factors: annual income, type of income, average market rent, family size and apartment/unit size.
Households which are identified as being in high need of this portable housing benefit will be contacted by the Housing Stability Services Department at the City of London.
Households who are at-risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness should contact the Coordinated Access team to complete an intake. Households are then matched to programs and services, including the COHB portable housing benefit, based on availability and suitability.
What Happens After You Apply for COHB?
Once the application has been processed by the Service Manager, the application will be sent to Ontario’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) who makes the final approval decision on the applicant's eligibility. The Ministry of Finance then issues monthly payment directly to the household or their landlord if they choose.
Once the COHB recipients have been approved by MOF, Service Ontario will be the point of contact for ongoing program management. MOF will contact the applicant directly to inform them that their application has been approved.
All questions with regards to the status of a COHB application should be directed to MOF: 1-888-544-5101 or 1 800 263-7776 (TTY)
Community housing provider tools
As a social housing provider you have access to a variety of tools and supports from the housing team. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to the Housing Team. If you would like a copy of the Subsidy Estimation Form and Annual Information Return Form, please email housing@london.ca
Housing Division Notices
Housing Division Notices or HDNs are policies, procedures and directives established by the service manager to ensure consistent program delivery. If you have any questions regarding these HDNs, please reach out to the housing team.
Housing Division Notices
HDN 268 - Placement Ratio and Urgent Criteria
HDN 267 - 2024 Revenue and Cost Indices (tables)
HDN 266 - 2024 Rent Increase Guidelines
HDN 265 - Household Asset Limit
HDN 263 - Calculating Minimum Rent
HDN 262 - Treatment of Temporary Covid-19 Benefits
HDN 261 - Maximum Household Income (Replaces HDN #2022-257)
HDN 258 - Ceasing to meeting occupancy standards (Replaces HDN# 2012-178)
HDN 255 – 2022 Rent Increase Guideline (Replaces HDN # 2019 – 239)
HDN 254 – Vacancy Loss (Replaces HDN # 2014-206)
HDN 253 – In-Situ Policy (Replaces HDN # 2005 – 88 & HDN # 2002 - 36)
HDN 252 – Arrears’ Policy Regarding Eligibility for Rent-Geared-To-Income (RGI) Subsidy (Replaces HDN # 2003 – 50).
HDN 242 - RGI Vacancy Lost
HDN 248 - Single Refusal (2012 - replaces HDN 179)
HDN 244 - Updated Income & Assets Review Form (Replaces HDN 2015-215)
HDN 243 - Social Assistance, Pension & Tax Credit Rates for January, February & March 2020 (Replaces HDN 2019-241)
HDN 204 - Carbon Monoxide Alarms (Replaces HDN 2014-202)
HDN 200 - New Mandatory Health & Safety Training
HDN 196 - Subsidy Surplus Fund
HDN 194 - Notices and Reviews of Decisions
Request for Internal Review Form
HDN 193 - Local Standard for Multi-Year Financial Plans
HDN 192 - Local Standard Leases-Occupancy Agreements
HDN 191 - Local Standard for Property Management
HDN 190 - Local Standard for the Remuneration of Directors
HDN 189 - Local Standard for Board Meetings
HDN 188 - Local Standard -Conflict of Interest (Replaces HDN 2002-03)
HDN 183 - Housing Provider Annual Information Return & Reporting Requirements
HDN 181 - Local Rule - Maximum Absence from Unit (Replaces HDN 2002-27)
HDN 180 - Local Rule - Certain Convictions (Replaces HDN 2002-26)
HDN 177 - Local rule - Occupancy Standards (Replaces HDN 2005-85)
HDN 174 - 2012 Ongoing Tenant Income Limits Sections 26 & 27 Housing Providers with Attachments
HDN 168 - Housing Services Act 2011
HDN 160 - Building Condition Assessments & Reserve Fund Studies
HDN 146 - Local Rule for Adding to Original List of Housing Preferences (Replaces HDN 2005-89)
HDN 140 - Market Revenue & Vacancy Loss Recognition - Federal
HDN 138 - Preventative Maintenance Management
HDN 138 Attachments
General Maintenance Schedule - Apartment
General Maintenance Schedule - Townhouse
Inspection Checklist - Apartment
Inspection Checklist - Townhouse
The Housing Division is able to modify the above standard forms to suit individual needs. Please contact housing@london.ca
HDN 134 - Capital Expenditure & Reserve Guide Attachment
HDN 129 - Asbestos Management Program
HDN 127 - Local Rule on Household Income Limits for Federal Non-Profit Section 95 Projects Only.
HDN 126:
HDN 125 - Subsidy Estimation Request Form (Replaces HDN 2002-10) Attachment
HDN 122 - Change to Funding Model Under the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000
HDN 118 - Business Continuity Plan Attachment
HDN 114 - Residential Tenancies Act 2006
HDN 106 - Rent Arrears - Tracking by the Housing Access Centre Attachments
HDN 102 - Information Reporting Form Attachments
HDN 100 - Amendment to the Ontario Fire Code Regarding Smoke Alarms
HDN 99 - Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) Attachment
HDN 98 - Refusal to Offer
HDN 97 - External Transfer of a Current Tenant from one Housing Provider to Another
HDN 87 - Local Rule for Internal Transfer (Update to HDN 2002-34)
HDN 81 - Domestic Hot Water Tanks
HDN 80 - Rent Arrears - Tracking by the Housing Access Centre
HDN 74 - Rent Inflation Factor to be used in the Calculation of Minimum Market Rent in 2005 Fiscal Year Attachment
HDN 73 - Asbestos Potential Health Risk due to Asbestos in Loose Fill Vermiculite Insulation
HDN 69 - Classifying & Reporting Maximum Rent Households During the 12 month Eligibility Period
HDN 66 - Adding Members to Existing Rent Geared-to-Income Assisted Households
HDN 59 - Independent Living Assessment Form Attachment
HDN 55 - Subsidy Disbursement Policy
HDN 49 - Record of Refusal to Offer
HDN 48 - Housing Special Notice
HDN 35 - Local Rule for Divestment of Residential Property
HDN 30 - Market Rent Analysis Form Attachment
HDN 29 - Part V Service Agreement Companion Document - Attachment available upon request
HDN 24 - Policy on Rent Recalculation
HDN 23 - Policy on Time Requirement to Report Changes Affecting Rent Geared-to-Income
HDN 22 - Policy on Rent Geared-to-Income Increases
HDN 21 - Policy on Pursuit of Income for Rent Geared-to-Income Eligibility
HDN 18 - Guest Policy for Households
HDN 14 - Procedures on Obtaining Ministerial Consent ( attachment available upon request)
HDN 9 - Operating Framework
HDN 7 - Internal transfers
HDN 5 - File Retention
HDN 2 - Corporate Requirements - Operating Agreement
HDN 1 - Housing Division Notices and Administration
Applicant Update Form
Housing provider forms are submitted directly to the Housing Access Centre to maintain the integrity of the coordinated access system.
Update Form - Housing Resident Update
Financial Administration
Below are guides, templates and forms used to report annual financial information.
Guides, templates and forms
Annual Information Return Forms
- Annual Information Return Guide
- Annual Information Return Submission Checklist
- Accountant Report with Appendix
- Auditor Confirmation Template for Federal Non-Profit Housing Providers
If you would like a copy of the Annual Information Return Form, please email housing@london.ca
Subsidy & Capital Budget Estimation Forms
As part of the Subsidy/Budget approval process, the Housing Division has designed a new Subsidy Estimation Request Form for both mixed and 100% RGI Provincial Reform Non-Profits and Co-operatives. The process is to provide information necessary to estimate annual subsidy/budget.
Housing Providers please fill out the Subsidy Estimation Request Form below for approval. Once complete, please ensure the form is signed for approval by two members of the Board of Directors and forwarded to the City of London, Housing Division as noted in the Subsidy Estimation Request Form Guidelines below.
- Subsidy Estimation Request Form Guidelines
- Application Request for Replacement Reserve Fund Expenditure
If you would like a copy of the Subsidy Estimation Form, please email housing@london.ca
Lower End of Market Rent Request Form
Federal operating agreements require the City of London Housing Division to review and approve rental charges submitted by Section 95 Federal Non-Profit housing providers annually.
Section 95 Federal Non-Profit housing providers are to complete the form below and email, mail or fax it to the Housing Division six months prior to the proposed rental increase effective date.