Housing Access Peterborough

To apply for Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing in the City or County of Peterborough you must either apply through the online portal or complete and submit the RGI Housing Application form. Both ways require you to provide supporting documents for all household members, for example:

• Legal status in Canada documentation for all household members (for example: Birth Certificate, Citizenship Card, Permanent Residency Card, Refugee approval documents with valid expiry dates). If your income source is Social Assistance, then you can authorize staff to get this verification from the Social Services program database.
• Income information for all household members over 16 years of age.
• Information about any money owed to, or repayment plans with a Social Housing Provider.
• Household members 16 years and older must provide consent and declaration.
• Proof of Custody for every child on your application that does not live full-time in the household.

You may need to complete and submit additional forms with your RGI Housing Application. Staff can help you determine which additional forms are needed, based on your individual situation. The following forms are available for you to print and complete, if applicable: 

• Request an Accessible Unit form (for print)
• Medical Need for an Additional Bedroom form 
• SPP Application form (for print)
  
• Verification of Recent Cohabitation 
• Professional Declaration form (for print)

The Transfer Application is for people who are already living in RGI housing who would like to apply to the wait lists of other Housing Providers.

Please print and complete this Transfer Application if you are over-housed.

1. You can live independently with or without support services.
2. You are over 16 years old.
3. You are a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a refugee claimant, or you are applying to become a permanent resident. You are not under a removal order to leave Canada.
4. You do not owe money to any social housing provider in Ontario (note: you can apply if you have a repayment agreement in place).
5. You must answer Yes to all the boxes below:
   • I, or someone else on my application is 16 years of age or older.
   • I can live independently and/or arrange my own support services.
   • I am a Canadian Citizen, or I made an application for Landed Immigrant or Permanent Resident status or a claim for protection as a Refugee.
   • My household income is at or below the amounts in Table 1 for the City of Peterborough or Table 2 for the County of Peterborough.
6. You have not been found guilty in the last two years of an offence related to RGI assistance.
7. Your income is within the allowable limits (see tables below).

Note: The maximum number of bedrooms allowed is one bedroom per single or couple, plus an additional bedroom for each family member.

When your application is complete you will receive a letter confirming that you are on the waitlists for all of the places you chose (as long as you are eligible). We are unable to tell you how long your wait time will be. There are many factors that can cause you to move up or down the list and it may change day-to-day.

It is important for you to keep your contact information updated so that you are ready to receive a call from a Housing Provider when it comes. You will be the first to know when there is a vacancy where you are the top candidate.

Wait times vary for many reasons including unit size, priority status, unit location and unit turnover. These also vary from year to year. In general, you should expect to wait at least the following lengths of time.

• Special Priority: (people fleeing domestic violence or human trafficking): 1 year
• Seniors: 6 years
• County housing: 5 years
• All other units (not including Supportive Housing): over 10 years

These are estimates only and in no way pinpoint how long you will be on the list(s). You may wait less time than this as well.

If you need to make a housing plan for the immediate future, we recommend that you contact the Housing Resource Centre at 705-743-2272.

Tell us right away if:

• you move
• your telephone number changes
• your email address changes
• the number of people on your application changes
• you want to change building selections on your application

Keeping your contact information up to date ensures housing providers can contact you when it is time to offer you housing. If a housing provider cannot reach you to make an offer of housing, it could be counted as a refusal, and you could lose your place on the Centralized Waiting List.

You can change your housing selections at any time. Please make sure that you have only chosen housing locations where you would be willing to move to at the time of offer. The community housing map is a great way to help you make your decision on where to apply.

Portal

To update your application on the portal, please contact Housing Access Peterborough staff by phone (705-748-8830) or by email (hapinfo@peterborough.ca) to get important information about your registered portal account.

Print and complete the update form

You can choose to print and complete the Updates to your RGI Housing Application form and include any relevant completed forms from the list below.

Additional forms to print and complete (as needed)

• Contact Information - for print
• Alternate Contact - for print
• Household Information - including a new pregnancy - for print 
• Income and Assets - for print
• Housing Preferences and Needs - for print 
• Housing Selections - for print 
• Priority Status for Human Trafficking or Abuse (SPP Application form) - for print
• Supportive Housing Application - for completion online
• Request an Accessible Unit form - for print
• Medical Need for an Additional Bedroom form 

 Submit your Updates to your RGI Housing Application and the supporting documents online

You can also submit your completed forms and documents directly to the staff person you are working with or by email (hapinfo@peterborough.ca).

Annual Update for RGI Housing 

Every twelve (12) months you will be sent an Annual Update for Housing Form. HAP must receive your updated form in the timeline provided with the form.

You must complete the Annual Update form and return it to HAP.

If the form is not returned, or we cannot contact you, your application may be cancelled and you will have to re-apply.

If you want HAP staff to communicate with someone other than yourself about the details of your application you can give us permission on the application form.

The RGI Housing Application is for Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) housing through the Centralized Wait List. HAP manages the waitlist to apply for Rent-Geared-to-Income housing. Peterborough Housing Corporation (PHC), some private non-profit housing providers and one co-operative housing provider must use the Centralized Wait List to find tenants.

Rent-Geared-to-Income means that rent costs are no more than 30% of your income. Some RGI units are in private landlord buildings. These are called “rent supplement units”.

All RGI units are listed in the Community Housing Map and in the RGI Housing Application.

The online, interactive community housing map shows RGI housing options and other affordable properties in the City and County of Peterborough. When you find places you are interested in, you can choose them on your application on the Housing Selections pages.

It is important to only select places where you would actually move into, since you will only get one offer of housing when your name comes up on the list. If you do not accept an offer of housing, you will be taken off the wait list for housing.

Please ask for a list of other affordable housing options, and how to apply. They are also listed on the online community housing map.

The community housing map shows RGI housing options and other affordable properties in the City and County of Peterborough. 

There is only one group of applicants with priority access to RGI housing in the City and County of Peterborough. Only people fleeing family/domestic abuse and human trafficking will be offered housing before other applicants. This group is called Special Priority Policy (SPP). 

The Province of Ontario determines who is eligible for SPP status. People applying for SPP priority status must complete the SPP application form (for print) or the SPP application form (online). Applicants fleeing abuse must provide Verification of Recent Cohabitation and  the Professional Declaration form. Staff are available to help applicants apply for RGI housing.

You can request a review of a decision about SPP status through the Request for Review form (for print).

Accessibility and special needs accommodations are available for tenants. Applicants may request accessible buildings (e.g., with ramps, automatic doors and doorways) if you are unable to climb stairs or if you use a mobility device.

The community housing map and the application form include an accessibility icon beside some of the sites. The icon means there are fully accessible units at the location. Many other sites have units with accessible features.

Modified units are reserved for applicants who are physically disabled and in a wheelchair on a full-time basis. Modifications may vary by unit and can include features such as grab bars, lowered counter tops, and wider door frames.

For applicants who require overnight care from a caregiver or in some cases require space for medical equipment, you can apply for an additional bedroom.

If you have accessibility needs, please read the property descriptions in the community housing map or contact HAP staff at the Peterborough Social Services office.

Mandate housing providers have special requirements for people who live in their buildings, called “mandates.” For example, some mandates require that tenants be seniors, Indigenous or women fleeing domestic violence.

The mandates of housing providers are included in banners on the housing application and in the descriptions and filters in the community housing map. You will not be added to the list of a housing provider if you are not eligible because of their mandate.

Thrive Housing and Support
Thrive Housing & Support is a Community Housing Provider that also provides supports from a Personal Support Worker (PSW) for people with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, are living with HIV, or are considered high risk seniors, who require personal care. For more information on applying for their support services please visit their website at www.thrivehs.ca.

Note: If applying for housing in addition to PSW supports, please continue with your RGI Housing Application through Housing Access Peterborough.