I just received an e-mail from
Neighbourhood Legal Services (a terrific Community Legal Services office supporting the eastern portion of the downtown Toronto core), discussing an problem to do with affordable housing and the COVID income replacement program "CERB", that may be of interest to some.
CERB and Rent-Geared-to-Income
Rules for calculating rental subsidies ("Rent-Geared-to-Income," or RGI) changed in July 2021. Prior to that time, RGI would be re-calculated within a month or two if evidence was submitted of a change of income. Rent increases or decreases would be somewhat concurrent (within 1 or 2 months) with changed circumstances
In July 2021, with the stated goal of “reducing paperwork,” now only the Notice of Assessment (NOA) from the previous year (or the year prior, if the annual review takes place in the first 6 months of the year) is used by default.
This is a problem for people who were on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) in 2020, but who are no longer receiving that level of income support. People are getting notices that their January 2022 rent will increase, but they can no longer afford it.
Alternatively, if a tenant loses income for a few months, RGI isn’t nimbly recalculated: the tenant normally has to wait for their next NOA.
The Housing Services Act does provide for an Approximate Net Income (ANI). If NOA is not predictive of the tenant’s future-looking financial picture, ANI might be used instead.
If you live in subsidized housing, and are facing rent that you cannot afford on your current income, contact us to learn about your options.
You can contact NLS here.
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