Reference for Housing Providers

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The information on this page is to help guide the work of Community Housing providers in the City and County of Peterborough.

Community Housing

“Community Housing” is a new term we use for Social Housing or Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) Housing. The places that run Community Housing are often called Housing Providers. In Peterborough City and County, the largest Housing Provider is Peterborough Housing Corporation. There are 12 other smaller providers that also run RGI Housing.

The Community Housing Guide (“the Guide”) has the information from most of the Community Housing Directives (CHD), see below, but with more detail added. It also has more easily worded items from the Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA). The HSA is one of the main laws that tells the Housing Providers a lot of the rules that they need to follow. Some of the rules are about the need to track a wait list for people who want RGI housing. This wait list is run by Housing Access Peterborough (HAP), and is often called the  Centralized Wait List (CWL).

There are also chapters about best practices and information that is important to running Community Housing. The Guide is updated often and the newest version is posted online.

If you would like to read the guide, log on to the Social Housing Provider's Portal or contact Housing Services staff at housing@peterborough.ca.

The Guide will be most useful to people who work at the City, the Housing Providers and Housing Access Peterborough (HAP). It is on the website for others who also may find it helpful such as residents, members of the public and other Service Managers.

The first public version of the Guide was released in 2019. It was created with input from Housing Providers and Housing Access Peterborough staff at the Service Manager Advisory Resource Team (SMART) meetings. SMART meetings are held regularly and include Housing Provider representatives, Housing Access Peterborough staff, and City staff. Other Housing Providers are welcome to join SMART by contacting Housing Services staff at housing@peterborough.ca.

Thank you to neighbouring Service Managers who allowed us to use content, ideas and templates from their local guides and policies. This includes Halton Region, City of Ottawa, City of London and especially Durham Region.

Community Housing Directives

The City of Peterborough is the Service Manager for housing and homelessness. The HSA allows Service Managers to make “local rules” for some parts of running Community Housing. Service Managers can also make rules about best practices that are important to the community and give information about changes that happen. When these rules, practices and changes are sent to Housing Providers, they are called Community Housing Directives (CHD). The CHD are updated regularly, and the newest ones are posted online.

Appeals - Peterborough Review Committee

The Peterborough Review Committee (PRC) is a system for reviewing decisions made in Community Housing where the tenant, member or applicant is not in agreement with a decision that was made.

Having a system like this is a requirement under the Housing Services Act , 2011 which is a law that governs Community Housing.

The first step if you are dissatisfied with a decision is to speak with Housing Access Peterborough (HAP) if you are an applicant, or your Housing Provider if you are a tenant or member. They will review the decision with you first.

If you are still dissatisfied and would like to request a review of your case, an Appeal Form is available through HAP or through your Housing Provider.

Completed forms may be submitted for assessment to HAP using the address on the form.

If a hearing is deemed necessary, you will be contacted with a date, time and location of the hearing.

You must request a review with in twenty (20) days of the decision.

 

Peterborough Review Committee Hearing Form - Tenant/Member/Applicant

Peterborough Review Committee Hearing Form - Housing Provider/HAP

  • The loss of RGI assistance
  • Being ineligible for RGI assistance
  • The size and type of unit that you are eligible for or that you have to move to
  • Special Priority selection (in any category)
  • The amount of rent you have to pay
  • Your eligibility for a special needs or modified unit

 

You may still request a review, even if you are unsure about whether the decision is eligible for review.

Hearings are scheduled at the discretion of the Housing Service Provider after careful review of your Appeal Form. It is recommended that you attend the review hearing and bring all the information you would like the PRC to know.

The Committee will provide all the parties with the same information to make an informed decision. In attendance in the meeting with you will be the person who made the decision, two neutral housing providers who were not involved in the decision, and a representative from the HAP. You are also able to bring a support person to help you feel more comfortable. 

The PRC cannot change the rules or legislation, but they are able to interpret it in order to make a final decision.

 

All decisions made by the Peterborough Review Committee are final.

Letter templates and forms

This section sets out several forms and letters that include content that meets requirements under the law and other local rules. Housing Providers may choose to use their own internal documents but are required to always use the same information in their own letters and forms.

Note: In order to keep the formatting of documents, it is recommended that Housing Providers select File and download the document to Microsoft Word rather than "cut and paste.