Toronto Community Housing

TCHC offers three types of rent: rent-geared-to-income, affordable rent, and market rent.

Rent-geared-to-income is for subsidized housing. It is 30 per cent of gross monthly household income before deductions, plus utilities and other service changes.[10]

TCHC’s Accessibility Program gives tenants with disabilities an opportunity to work with staff and other residents to make accessibility improvements to their units and common areas. The program supports Toronto Community Housing's Human Rights, Harassment and Fair Access Policy, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the City of Toronto ’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan.

TCHC’s Accessible Customer Service policy follows the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA):

• Customer service will be provided in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities
• Customers with disabilities will fully benefit from the same services, in the same place, and in the same or similar way, as all other customers, unless an alternate measure is necessary.
• Customers with disabilities will be provided the same opportunity to access services as all other customers

As landlords, the TCHC has a responsibility to:[11]

• Provide services as set out in the lease, under the law, or both
• Keep rental property well-maintained and respond to repair requests within five days
• Comply with local health, safety, and property standards and bylaws
• Provide proof of payment when requested
• Process annual rent reviews for tenants in rent-geared-to-income leases
• Provide 24 hours' notice before entering a unit unless there is an emergency; in which case, staff can enter the unit (flood, fire, life-threatening event or life-safety check)
• Provide accessible customer service to residents with disabilities

As landlords, the TCHC has a right to collect one month’s rent deposit for tenants in market pay leases. TCHC deposit terms:

• uses the deposit as the rent payment for the last month of the tenancy
• cannot use the deposit for any other reason, such as paying for damages
• pays interest on the deposit each year

TCHC is looking for and implementing innovative solutions to improve, renew, and maintain its housing supply. Many of TCHC’s buildings have implemented best practices through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for New Construction system, an internationally recognized rating system for sustainable building best practices. LEED credits are organized in seven main green building categories.

TCHC buildings have accomplished the following LEED credits:[13]

• Sustainable sites recognize steps TCHC has taken to reduce the impact of their site and how residents and visitors travel to and from the building every day.
• Water efficiency focuses on strategies to reduce water use – specifically, drinking water.
• Energy and atmosphere includes strategies for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Materials and resources is about selecting materials to reduce the environmental impact of constructing TCHC buildings, as well as dealing with waste appropriately.
• Indoor environmental quality recognizes that in order for a building to be great, it needs to be great for the environment and the people living in it. This means paying close attention to the air quality and the daylight levels within the space.
• Innovation in design rewards projects for going above and beyond the standard LEED credits and implementing something different.
• Regional priority rewards projects with extra credits for pursuing specific LEED credits based on the province they are located in and whether they are in an urban or rural setting.

TCHC is committed to the revitalization of its buildings. During this process, some residents need to relocate while buildings are being repaired.

TCHC provides residents with significant notice and intensive education about the revitalization and relocation process before any relocation process is underway.[14] In some cases, residents can move directly from their old unit and into a new unit being built as part of the revitalization process. In other cases, residents may need to move to a relocation unit in the same community or another TCHC building.

Every resident who is relocated as part of a Revitalization has the right to return to a new unit being built as part of the revitalization process, subject to Relocation Agreement eligibility rules.

The Foundation Program[15] provides eligible Toronto Community Housing tenants living in Regent Park, Lawrence Heights, Alexandra Park or Allenbury Gardens with down payment assistance for up to 35 per cent of the price of a new home in their revitalization community.

The BOOST program[15] helps eligible home purchasers with their down payment by providing assistance for up to 10 per cent of the price of a new home in a TCHC revitalization community.

The Community Safety Unit (CSU) is the corporate security and law enforcement agency of TCHC. In 2000, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Police Service launched a pilot project to create Special Constables to serve TCHC as peace officers.

Currently, the CSU focuses on:[16]

• Discouraging antisocial behaviour by being a visible, uniformed presence, and engaging with tenants
• Responding to calls for service and investigating incidents
• Enforcing federal, provincial, and municipal legislation
• Conducting proactive patrols in high-needs communities
• Participating in community activities and meetings
• Conducting joint patrols with police and enforcing parking by-laws
• Completing safety audits utilizing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles

On January 24, 2022, the TCHC’s CSU unveiled its new heraldic crest, developed with the Chief Herald of the Governor Genera's office.[17]

The new heraldic crest of TCHC's Community Safety Unit, developed on January 24, 2022.

On September 24, 2010, a fire broke out on the 24th floor of the 200 Wellesley Street East high-rise apartment building.[18] The fire started in a unit belonging to a tenant that Toronto Public Health had recommended needed to be decluttered after a bedbug investigation in July.[19] There are reports that the fire worsened because of newspapers, books, and other combustible materials in the unit when the fire began.[18]

The building was home to 1,200 residents and had massive damage on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th floors.

TCHC has compiled a list of buildings in need of repair since forming in 2002.[20] In 2011, TCHC initiated a program of selling off units and other assets to delegate the proceeds to the backlog of building repairs. In 2012, the Ontario government approved the sale of 65 properties. Toronto City Council approved the sale of 55 properties in October 2012. By 2013, TCHC still estimated $751 million in repairs needed for its buildings.

Toronto Auditor General Jeffery Griffiths conducted audits of TCHC procurements and employee expenses between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. He reported his findings in two reports on December 7, 2010. One revealed inappropriate expenses from TCHC staff abusing the organization’s funds for personal interest. Some examples include:[21]

• $53,500 for staff party in December 2008
• $40,000 for a staff Christmas party at local banquet hall in December 2009
• $6,000 for a planning session in Muskoka
• $5,000 for restaurant and entertainment
• $3,000 for a planning session at resort in Alliston
• $1,925 for a planning meeting at local spa
• $1,850 boat cruise for "staff training development"
• $1,000 in staff gifts from Holt Renfrew
• $1,004 in gift cards recognizing staff achievements
• $800 for massages at a staff summer picnic

The procurement audit found that the TCHC board of directors’ procurement policy and procedures were sometimes ignored. Examples include:

• Tendering process (or invitation to tender) was not always transparent
• Open tendering process was not used at times when it should have been
• Purchase orders were sometimes split to circumvent procurement procedures
• Tendering processes that were deemed inappropriate

One tendering process case included a potential conflict of interest of nearly $25 million in work awarded to an unsolicited proposal without competition from other vendors. The report also criticized TCHC for bypassing the formal requirement that bidders make deposits, which is a requirement that protects the TCHC, should a bidder fail to meet its contractual obligations. The report criticized TCHC because its documentation inadequately supported some cases of single tendering.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford demanded that the TCHC board of directors resign. Though initially resistant, all board members resigned by March 3, 2011. The board was replaced on a temporary basis by former city councillor Case Ootes.

Ford also demanded that TCHC CEO Keiko Nakamura resign. Although she initially refused to step down, she was fired by Managing Director Ootes, officially losing her position on March 25, 2011. Nakamura had replaced Derek Ballantyne, the CEO of TCHC from 2002 to 2009, whose time in leadership overlapped with the inappropriate expenses from the audit report. As COO of Toronto land development agency Build Toronto, Ballantyne was asked to step down from his position. Although initially reluctant, he stepped down on March 4, 2011.[22]

Eugene Jones took over as president and CEO of TCHC on June 18, 2012.[23]

In 2013, Ombudsman Toronto released a report about TCHC’s eviction policy and its evictions. The report was sparked by the death of a senior one month after being evicted from a TCHC building in 2011. One of the responses by TCHC CEO Len Koroneos was, “Good eviction prevention programs cannot be implemented at the expense of rent collection”.

The TCHC Board adopted Ombudsman Toronto’s recommendations from their progress update. Some of these recommendations range from staff training to performance management so the TCHC can implement equitable practices for senior tenants.[24] One of the Ombudsman recommendations was to implement recommendations from the Honourable Justice Patrick Lesage who the board of directors appointed to conduct an independent review of the eviction. Some of Justice Lesage’s recommendations included making direct contact between TCHC staff and tenants more consistent and creating the Commissioner of Housing Equity, a new independent office to oversee and ensure TCHC staff engages in required eviction prevention procedures.

Five TCHC employees were fired after an investigation into fraudulent billing found evidence of wrongdoing.[25] The investigation involved a former subsidiary, Housing Services Inc., in connection with an insurance claim for the 200 Wellesley Street East building fire.

The file was turned over to Toronto Police for further investigation.

On May 27, 2022, a ceiling panel in the bedroom of a TCHC unit collapsed, sending a tenant to the hospital with injuries.[26] The townhouse unit was in Swansea Mews, a complex near the Queensway, housing around 420 people. Inspection by third-party engineers determined that the cause of the incident was related to a construction default that dated back to the building’s creation. As a result, all tenants from this complex were moved into temporary accommodation. TCHC covered the cost for temporary accommodations, food, and transportation. The next steps are being determined for the Swansea Mews community’s temporary relocation.