The City of Windsor has introduced a new housing benefit option for low-income individuals and families, and it is portable.
Unlike other forms of housing assistance, the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit will be tied to the person or household, and not the housing unit. If the applicant moves, the benefit will go with them to their new home.
"Eligible recipients will have more flexibility to choose where they live to be closer to family, social support networks, schools, and employment opportunities," said Windsor's Executive Director of Housing and Children's Services, Debbie Cercone.
A release from the city said, "positive outcomes of the COHB program are attaining housing stability through better connections to people and supports, improving household financial well-being, and providing a better quality of life."
According to the Canadian Rental Housing Index, 44 per cent of Windsor-Essex residents spend over 30 per cent of their income on rent and utilities, and another eight per cent in renter households live in overcrowded conditions.
The new benefit is designed to increase the affordability of rental housing for those who qualify who are currently on waiting lists. Those who are approved will have to remove themselves from the waitlist for social housing.
