Ottawa. City Operations

Rent supplement program providing a direct, monthly benefit payment to eligible households to help pay their rent

• payment received is based on household income and local market rent
• payments can be made directly to the household or the landlord
• benefits are portable, meaning the recipient is still eligible to receive the benefit if they move to another address in Ontario

Eligible households must be on The Social Housing Registry of Ottawa's Centralized Wait List, which requires the following:

• at least one (1) person in the household is 16 years of age or older


• applicants are able to live independently and make their own arrangements for support services


• all members of the household are Canadian citizens, landed immigrants, refugees or refugee claimants


• no member of the household owes money to a social housing provider in Ontario or they have an agreement to repay this money


• no members of the household are currently under a deportation, departure, or exclusion order to leave Canada


• the applicant's income and assets are within the allowable limits


• no members of the household have been convicted of an offence in relation to rent-geared-to-income assistance or found by a court of law or the Landlord and Tenant Board to have misrepresented their income for the purpose of obtaining housing assistance


• the applicant must agree to sell any house they own within 180 days of being housed through this process

Completed application form along with the following documents:

• proof of residency for all members of the household (such as birth certificate, passport, permanent residency card, immigration documentation, etc.)


• proof of current income for all members of the household aged 18 years or older (Notice of Assessment preferred, but can also accept full statement from Ontario Works or ODSP, employment pay stub, or letter from employer)


• additional documentation or information may be required; if that is the case, the Registry will contact the applicant by phone or by mail