Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit

Purpose

The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) is a monthly portable housing benefit program that assists eligible households with their housing costs. The financial subsidy is paid directly to households or landlord to support housing affordability and stability within the private rental market.

Description

COHB supports households receiving this benefit wherever they move in Ontario. The benefit amount may change to reflect the average local market rent.

The COHB pays the difference between 30 per cent 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.

The program is administered by the Province of Ontario and the benefit amount is reviewed every year.

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.

Households cannot be receiving COHB and Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing or any other form of housing benefit at the same time.

The COHB program ends on March 31, 2029.

If an individual accepts the COHB benefit, they must agree to be removed from the social housing waiting list of their local Service Manager as required by Provincial program guidelines.

Criteria for Eligibile Applicants

This is a closed application process and the benefit is not available to the general public.

COHB is a referral based program. The Service Manager identifies households who may be eligible according to Provincial program guidelines. If you have been deemed eligible to receive an offer for COHB, you will be contacted by the Housing Access Centre inviting you to apply for the program.

Eligible households include:

• survivors of domestic violence and/or human trafficking
• people experiencing or at risk of homelessness
• Indigenous people
• seniors
• people with disabilities

Offers are made in chronological order based on the above target groups.

How Are COHB Benefits Calculated?

The COHB is calculated by using a variety of factors: Income, average market rent, family size, apartment size and support from social assistance.

What Happens After You Apply for COHB?

Once the application has been processed by the Housing Access Centre, the application will be sent to Ontario’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) to approve the applicant’s eligibility and monthly payments will be made directly to the household.

Once the COHB recipients have been approved by the MOF, ServiceOntario will be the point of contact for households in the program for questions and to report changes. MOF will contact the applicant directly to let them know 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)