5.1. Pursuit of Income

POLICY

Geared-to-Income rent is just that and in order to ensure that residents’ rent is based on their income, it is only responsible to ensure that they pursue income from all sources to which they are eligible.  Failure to do so may result in an underfunded household or misrepresentation of income.
 

PROCEDURE

1. If the DSB is of the opinion that a member of a household may be eligible to receive income from any one of the sources below, and the member is not receiving such income, the Manitoulin-Sudbury DSB shall provide to the household a written notice: 

• stating that the member may be eligible to receive income of the type specified in the notice;
• requesting the member to apply for that income and to make reasonable efforts to do whatever is required for the purpose of receiving that income;
• giving the household a reasonable period of time specified in the notice within which to inform the DSB of the results of the application for the income. 

2. The types of income that are covered by this requirement are: 

• basic financial assistance under the Ontario Works Act, 1997,
• support under the Divorce Act (Canada), the Family Law Act or the Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Orders Act,
• benefits under the Employment Insurance Act (Canada),
• any pension or other benefit that an individual who is 65 years of age or older is or may be entitled to receive from the Government of Ontario or the Government of Canada, other than a pension or other benefit that is available to an individual before the month in which they attain 65 years of age,
• support or maintenance resulting from an undertaking given with respect to the member under the Immigration Act (Canada).

3. A household that has been given a notice by the Service Manager or the DSB to pursue said incomes is not eligible for RGI assistance if the DSB;

• receives no response from the household within the period of time specified in the notice, or
• concludes, on the basis of a response received from the household within the specified time, that the member has failed to make reasonable efforts to obtain income of the type specified in the notice.