Торонское жилищное агентство: Обзор и программа обновления.

Public housing agency

Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) is a public housing agency in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest social housing provider in Canada with over 58,000 units across 2,100 buildings and approximately 105,000 residents. It operates as a non profit with most of its operating funding coming from the residents' rental payments and subsidies from the City of Toronto. The remainder of funding comes from renting commercial spaces, parking, laundry, cable, and income from other investments. The City of Toronto is the sole shareholder of TCHC and appoints a board of directors to manage and monitor the TCHC performance. The Board includes two city councillors, a mayor or mayoral representative, three tenant directors and seven citizen members. TCHC is a 2022 Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winner. TCHC was also named one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers by Mediacorp Canada’s Inc in 2009 and 2011.

TCHC offers three types of rent: rent geared to income, affordable rent, and market rent. Rent geared to income is for subsidized housing. It is 30 per cent of gross monthly household income before deductions, plus utilities and other service changes.

TCHC developed a plan to fix its buildings through its Revitalization program. The Revitalization plan leverages the value of the property in many of its communities to offset the cost of replacing and renewing homes. TCHC’s private sector development partners are addressing 10 to 12 per cent of its community Revitalization portfolio. TCHC and the City of Toronto developed the 10 Year Capital Financing Plan to address the remaining 90 per cent of portfolio repairs. Sustainable sites recognize steps TCHC has taken to reduce the impact of their site and how residents and visitors travel to and from the building every day. Water efficiency focuses on strategies to reduce water use – specifically, drinking water. Energy and atmosphere includes strategies for reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Materials and resources is about selecting materials to reduce the environmental impact of constructing TCHC buildings, as well as dealing with waste appropriately. Indoor environmental quality recognizes that in order for a building to be great, it needs to be great for the environment and the people living in it. This means paying close attention to the air quality and the daylight levels within the space. Innovation in design rewards projects for going above and beyond the standard LEED credits and implementing something different. Regional priority rewards projects with extra credits for pursuing specific LEED credits based on the province they are located in and whether they are in an urban or rural setting.

TCHC is committed to the revitalization of its buildings. During this process, some residents need to relocate while buildings are being repaired. TCHC provides residents with significant notice and intensive education about the revitalization and relocation process before any relocation process is underway. In some cases, residents can move directly from their old unit and into a new unit being built as part of the revitalization process. In other cases, residents may need to move to a relocation unit in the same community or another TCHC building. Every resident who is relocated as part of a Revitalization has the right to return to a new unit being built as part of the revitalization process, subject to Relocation Agreement eligibility rules.

On September 24, 2010, a fire broke out on the 24th floor of the 200 Wellesley Street East high rise apartment building. The fire started in a unit belonging to a tenant that Toronto Public Health had recommended needed to be decluttered after a bedbug investigation in July. There are reports that the fire worsened because of newspapers, books, and other combustible materials in the unit when the fire began. In 2011, TCHC initiated a program of selling off units and other assets to delegate the proceeds to the backlog of building repairs. In 2012, the Ontario government approved the sale of 65 properties. Toronto City Council approved the sale of 55 properties in October 2012. By 2013, TCHC still estimated $751 million in repairs needed for its buildings.

In 2013, Ombudsman Toronto released a report about TCHC’s eviction policy and its evictions. The report was sparked by the death of a senior one month after being evicted from a TCHC building in 2011. One of the responses by TCHC CEO Len Koroneos was, “Good eviction prevention programs cannot be implemented at the expense of rent collection”. The TCHC Board adopted Ombudsman Toronto’s recommendations from their progress update. Some of these recommendations range from staff training to performance management so the TCHC can implement equitable practices for senior tenants. One of the Ombudsman recommendations was to implement recommendations from the Honourable Justice Patrick Lesage who the board of directors appointed to conduct an independent review of the eviction. Some of Justice Lesage’s recommendations included making direct contact between TCHC staff and tenants more consistent and creating the Commissioner of Housing Equity, a new independent office to oversee and ensure TCHC staff engages in required eviction prevention procedures.

Five TCHC employees were fired after an investigation into fraudulent billing found evidence of wrongdoing. The investigation involved a former subsidiary, Housing Services Inc., in connection with an insurance claim for the 200 Wellesley Street East building fire. The file was turned over to Toronto Police for further investigation.

On May 27, 2022, a ceiling panel in the bedroom of a TCHC unit collapsed, sending a tenant to the hospital with injuries. The townhouse unit was in Swansea Mews, a complex near the Queensway, housing around 420 people. Inspection by third party engineers determined that the cause of the incident was related to a construction default that dated back to the building’s creation. As a result, all tenants from this complex were moved into temporary accommodation. TCHC covered the cost for temporary accommodations, food, and transportation. The next steps are being determined for the Swansea Mews community’s temporary relocation.