Item - 2022.PH34.9

The Planning and Housing Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to convert the Toronto Rent Bank program into a permanent grant-based program and make operational adjustments as required, including forgiving some or all of the loans previously issued.

2. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat to operate the Toronto Rent Bank as a grant program.

The Toronto Rent Bank (Rent Bank) provides interest-free loans to low-income households in Toronto who are experiencing rental arrears or require help with a rental deposit in order to prevent homelessness.

The City has made significant program enhancements to Rent Bank throughout the pandemic to expand support for households at risk of eviction to prevent people from becoming homeless due to eviction. These changes include enhancements to increase access and uptake as well as additional investments of $3 million through COVID-19 emergency funds to enable the Rent Bank program to support more households in need.

On April 7, 2021, City Council approved a pilot of the Rent Bank program until March 31, 2022, that provided grants instead of loans for any new households accessing the program and suspended any loan repayment requirements for existing Rent Bank clients during the pilot.

City staff was requested to report back as per item EC20.3, Recommendation 6.b. to the Planning and Housing Committee on the Rent Bank grant program pilot and further options to protect those most in need from becoming homeless, including through forgiveness of loans or conversion to a grant program, as well as the impact of those options on future years' revenue.

There have been positive outcomes of the pilot program for clients who are at risk of eviction. The grant has allowed households to remain in their homes and avoid homelessness. As of March 31, 2022, 1,744 households were able to avoid eviction by receiving a grant since the pilot began on May 1, 2021. This was an increase of 52% or an additional 594 households who were able to avoid eviction as compared to 2020 when only 1,150 households received a loan. In an engagement survey administered to Rent Bank clients who received a grant, clients expressed how essential the grants were to maintain their housing when faced with economic uncertainty during the pandemic.

Based on the recommendations in this report, the Rent Bank will be converted to a grants program on a permanent basis and loans repayments that were issued prior to the pilot will resume.  Operational adjustments, approved by the Executive Director, Housing Secretariat, will allow loan forgiveness should repayment result in undue financial hardship as well as the ability to monitor and adjust loan repayment policies in future years.