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Community Housing | Effective Date: March 1, 2015 |
Topic: Investment in Affordable Housing | Replaces: |
Subject: Ontario Renovates | Policy No. I.10.1. |
The Ontario Renovates program is a component of the provinces Investment in Affordable Housing Program which is 100% funded by the provincial and federal governments. This program is intended to:
The Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board is committed to delivering the Ontario Renovates component of the Investment in Affordable Housing program provided the funding for the program is provided by the provincial and federal governments. DSB staff will prepare the Program Delivery and Fiscal Plan as required by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The DSB will strive to ensure the program is delivered in a fair and equitable manner across the DSB entire jurisdiction where reasonably possible. The DSB will establish eligibility criteria based on applicants income and assets. The DSB will also establish a priority ranking system for all applications as they are received based on the Investment in Affordable Housing Program Guidelines and DSB priorities across all communities.
All residents of the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB catchment area can apply for the Ontario Renovates Program by contacting any of the DSB offices or by completing the Ontario Renovates Application Form and submitting it to any of the DSB offices.
No Funding available at this time. Please check back in December 2022.
The Ontario Renovates component consists of two sub-components:
Eligible repairs for Ontario Renovates may include the following activities:
Other eligible costs may include labour and applicable taxes, building permits, legal fees, certificates, appraisal fees, inspection fees, drawing and specification and any other costs that the DSB deems reasonable and that are agreed to by the Ministry.
Applicants who have previously received federal and/or provincial repair funding (e.g. Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program; IAH - Ontario Renovates; Northern Repair; Northern Remote Communities, CHPI funding) may be eligible for Ontario Renovates provided the repair/remediation/ modification addresses a need or condition of work which has not been the subject of previous repair assistance.
Repairs must commence within 120 days of project approval. Copies of all financial invoices must be kept for reporting and audit purposes. Projects that have not started due to inclement weather will be provided a grace period before the 120 day commencement period. Projects which have not started within 240 days (8 months) of the project approval will be considered abandoned and the funds will be redistributed to the next applicant on the waitlist.
The Ministry strongly encourages the use of energy-saving products or systems for the required repairs to housing under the Ontario Renovates component.
The following projects are not eligible for Ontario Renovates funding:
The DSB is responsible for selecting and approving all eligible Ontario Renovates projects, monitoring progress and completion of projects, quality of work and for the advancement of funds.
Eligible client groups for Ontario Renovates include, but are not limited to:
Under the Ontario Renovates Home Repair subcomponent, eligible households must:
The Average funding that the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB intends on providing is $17,500. Costs over and above this will be considered by the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB but may need to be supplied by the home owner. The DSB reserves the right to provide additional funding for “unforeseen conditions” found during the repairs, but this will be assessed on a case by case basis.
The cumulative value of the loan plus legal fees and taxes will be secured as an encumbrance against the property in the form of a Lien for projects under $25,000 or a Mortgage for projects over $25,000.
The period of forgiveness for Home Repair projects is a minimum of 10 years and for Multi-Unit Rehabilitation projects it is a minimum of 15 years. Both are forgiven at an equal rate per year over the affordability period. The earning of loan forgiveness begins on the date of repair completion.
The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB reserves the right approve or deny any request for future mortgage postponement based on the applicant’s financial situation at the time when the postponement is requested. The consideration for postponement is based on a complete financial review at the time that the postponement is requested, including but not limited to:
In the unlikely event that a property (with a Mortgage from this program) incurs damage and an insurance claim is engaged, as long as the property is generally rebuilt to the same condition, finishes and size as original, the DSB would approve refinancing.
Funding for accessibility repairs made to a home and/or unit, up to a maximum of $5,000 is in the form of a contribution without an affordability period and does not require repayment provided the funds are used for their intended purpose.
The applicant is considered to be in default and any outstanding loan amount must be repaid if the following situations occur:
If any of the following situations occur, the applicant is considered to be in default and the original loan amount must be repaid:
Repayments made to the DSB are to be reinvested into Ontario Renovates projects unless otherwise directed by the Ministry.
The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB may take legal steps to recover funds from clients found to be in default.
The DSB will strive to ensure the program is delivered in a fair and equitable manner across the DSB entire jurisdiction where reasonably possible. However, the DSB will establish the following local priorities:
The Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB procedure for emergency home repairs is to fast-track unplanned, urgent repairs.
This is for homes that require repairs necessary to maintain the safety of the home and the health of its residents. These repairs are intended to prevent a household from becoming homeless and assisting households at risk of becoming homeless retain their housing.
Staff will also explore and exhaust all other funding sources available for emergency home repairs. Other funding sources may include but are not limited to the Healthy Communities Fund (HCF), Home and Vehicle Modification Program, the Healthy Homes Tax Credit and Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP).
The funding will be provided through the Ontario Renovates Program but in situations where the program allocations have been committed, the DSB may consider accessing funds from the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF).