Item - 2021.PH25.22

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to implement the Toronto Tenant Support Program as set out in the report (May 31, 2021) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to enter into agreements or other suitable arrangements with other City divisions, agencies, boards, corporations, federal and provincial agencies, community agencies, private entities and/or individuals to allocate funding and deliver the Toronto Tenant Support Program.

2. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to include funding for the Toronto Tenant Support Program (TTSP) in the 2022 budget submission, for consideration by the Budget Committee in the 2022 budget process.

At its meeting on June 14, 2021, the Subcommittee on the Protection of Affordable Rental Housing considered Item RH5.2, a report (May 31.2021) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration on Toronto Tenant Support Program Implementation.

On October 27 and 28, 2020, City Council directed the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to report back to the Subcommittee on the Protection of Affordable Rental Housing in the second quarter of 2021 on opportunities to align, over the intermediate-and long-term, existing programs for tenants in the private market with current market conditions.

Staff considered the following objectives to develop program options for tenants in the private market:

- To support the preservation of affordable rental housing for tenants in Toronto, in line with the objectives outlined in the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan and directives from the Subcommittee on the Protection of Affordable Rental Housing. 

- To enhance and modernize tenant support programs to respond to current market conditions and to the impacts of recent legislative changes.

- To build flexible and responsive program models that allow the City to adapt quickly to changing tenant support needs and changing market conditions.

This report recommends implementing a Toronto Tenant Support Program by modernizing the Tenant Defence Fund and expanding the program scope and flexibility to allow the City to adapt to emerging issues as they arise. The Toronto Tenant Support Program will support eligible tenants to preserve affordable rental housing in the private market, through the following components: (1) Streamlined access to professional services; (2) Tenant information services; (3) Tenant organizing and capacity building; and (4) Research and policy development.