Subsidize Housing

Subsidized housing is long-term housing for people who permanently reside in Canada.  Rental fees are calculated on a rent-geared to income basis.

Overview

All Provinces offer housing, manages public housing, and maintains the housing registry, a subsidized housing listing and application service. The housing registry includes public housing, non-profit, and co-op housing. In all Provinces, subsidized housing refers to apartments, townhouses and other housing properties that are either owned by or under operating agreements with that province. The purpose of subsidized housing is to provide affordable housing for people who are low income earners. The rent is calculated at 30% of your gross income.

For example, if you are a senior collecting Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), your income is probably around $1600 per month. This means that your rent would be 30% of $1600 or $480 per month. It could be a bit higher if there is a minimum rent amount set. 

To find out if you are eligible to live in subsidized housing, here is the condensed version of the requirements to apply to the Housing Registry:

You must fall into one of the eligible groups:

1: Family – minimum of two people, including one dependent child.                                                     

2: Senior – age 55 or older, or a couple where at least one person is age 55 or older.                      

3: People with disabilities – Those who can live independently and are in receipt of a recognized disability pension or are considered disabled for income tax purposes.                                       

4: Single people and couples – You are a single person, or a couple, with a low income and homeless, or at risk of homelessness. In addition, you do not meet the definitions of seniors or people with disabilities.

Most residency requirements:

You must permanently reside in Canada when applying, and each member of the household must be one of the following: Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, refugee sponsored by the Government of Canada or an individual who has applied for refugee status.

You may be eligible for subsidized housing if you can live independently and meet the household, residency, income and assets criteria.

Find Resources for Your Province

Hover over your province on the map below, then click ‘See Resources’ to access the information for your area.

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British Columbia

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

Newfoundland Labrador

Meritimes

Nunavut

Northwest Territories

British Columbia

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Northwest Territories

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Nunavut

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