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Tell me more
about seniors' housing
This
section contains a lot of information that you will find useful. You can scroll
down the page or jump to any one of the following sections:
Supportive housing
Life lease housing
Retirement homes
Social housing
Adult lifestyle communities
Supportive
housing
Purpose
Supportive
housing is intended to assist seniors who want to live independently but need
someone to help them. The type of assistance needed includes assistance with
activities of daily living (those activities performed routinely including
hygiene, dressing, ambulation, washing and grooming), daily visits or telephone
reassurances, 24-hour emergency response, shopping, cooking, meals,
transportation and counseling. The services needed are not as extensive as the
medical and nursing care services offered in long term care homes but they
are similar to those offered in retirement homes.
Some housing providers receive funding from the Ontario government through
the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to deliver personal care and
supportive services to eligible clients.
In
some situations people are able to access some level of support in their own
homes by contracting directly with various agencies who provide the support. In
supportive housing the support is arranged through the housing and is connected
with it.
Types
of Supportive Housing Projects
Supportive
Housing can be found within any of the types of seniors housing discussed in
this section. A senior may prefer to live in an apartment building, either a
condominium or apartment, that offers supportive services but in which the
senior has his/her own private apartment. Many supportive housing projects offer
common rooms, such as lounges, activity room and dining room to allow for
social interaction and leisure activities.
 If
the senior prefers to live close to others and still live in their own home, there are a
variety of large dwellings shared by about 10 people, each of whom has some
private space. Some examples are
Abbeyfield houses, Special Care Group Home and co-housing. These offer a mixture
of private and common spaces. The private space may include a bedroom, bathroom
and in some cases kitchenettes but the house will also include some shared
space. |
Support
Services
The range of supportive services provided by the
housing provider varies from project to project. Housing projects offering
little support service appeal to active, healthy seniors while older, more frail
seniors prefer projects with a larger range of services.
In some cases, the
housing project is associated with a long term care home with outreach
support services; such projects may be part of a comprehensive continuum of care
or a long-term care ‘campus’. As tenants age and their support needs
increase, they may be able to move to the associated long term care home – all within
the same complex and continue to receive care from the organization with which
they are familiar.
Tenure and Types
of dwellings: these vary depending upon the particular type of seniors’
housing (see Tenure and Types of dwellings listed under the other housing
types discussed in this section)
May be operated as either not-for-profits or
for-profits.
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Life lease housing
Purpose
To
provide affordable housing for older adults and seniors as well as an
opportunity for capital investment.
Purchasing a Life Lease Suite
Life
lease is a relatively new form of tenure in Canada which has evolved from models in the
U.S. and Japan. Development of a Life Lease project begins with a non-profit
and/or charitable organization (e.g. housing corporation, municipality, service
club, church or ethnic association) which sponsors the project and oversees both
the development and ongoing management. Ownership of the life lease development
remains in the name of the sponsoring organization.
 Applicants
who meet the criteria, commonly a minimum age (such as 55 years of age), may
purchase the exclusive Right to Occupy the leasehold suites and use the
common areas (lounges, workshops, recreation areas, parking, etc.). Residents are
neither tenants nor owners, but a combination of the two. |
As
the sponsoring organization is non-profit, the initial price of a life lease suite is
based on break-even cost plus a
reasonable contribution towards a contingency fund. Residents make an initial
investment towards the construction of the project and upon its completion, pay
the balance of the price of the life lease suite. As they continue to live in
the housing residents pay a monthly occupancy fee to cover the project’s ongoing
operating costs. Although the leasehold is available for life, residents may
sell the Right to Occupy and,
consequently, earn a return on their investment (similar to condominiums or
private homes).
The sale price of the life lease may be based on the market or may be determined
by a formula; this varies by project. At the time of the sale, a fee is paid to
the sponsoring organization to enable them to continue their work in providing
affordable housing.
Support Services
Life lease residents
may have the option of purchasing support services as described under Supportive
Housing.
Some life lease projects which are connected with long term care homes may
provide some level of support without charge.
Tenure:
leasehold interest
Type of
dwellings: multi-residential (e.g. townhouses and
apartments)
Generally, operated as
not-for-profits.
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Retirement homes
Purpose
To
serve seniors who are in relatively good health but require assistance with
activities of daily living (those activities performed routinely, such as
hygiene, dressing, ambulation, washing and grooming) and who do not want to live
independently.
Support Services
Retirement homes provide a range of care and supportive services. Some homes have different levels of care and
services; thus, allowing residents to remain in the retirement home should their
health decline. Retirement homes provide accommodation and usually provide
nursing staff or health care aides for medication administration and personal
care. Generally, they also provide 24 hour supervision, meals (usually in a
common dining room), recreational activities, laundry and housekeeping services.
Monthly costs vary depending upon the services purchased. Some homes allow
extra personal care services to be purchased from an external agency.
Some retirement homes have respite care for seniors requiring short term stay
as they recover from an illness or to relieve the caregiver or for vacation
care.
 Tenure:
rental
Types of
dwellings: varying from houses to high-rise
buildings. Is it not true to say: Residents generally rent a bedroom or
bedsitting room and have access to a wide range of common areas.
May be operated as
either for-profits or not-for-profits;
the
second type sometimes have different kinds of subsidies available. |
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Social
housing
Purpose
To
provide
affordable housing for seniors, families and single people with low to moderate
incomes.
Types of social
housing
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Non-profit
housing is owned and managed by
either municipal housing corporations, accountable to local governments or private non-profit charitable organizations
(such as churches, seniors’ organizations and ethno-cultural groups).
-
Public
housing is owned and managed by municipal housing corporations (prior to January 1, 2001
public housing was owned by the provincially owned Ontario Housing
Corporation).
-
Co-operative
housing is owned and controlled by
the residents, who are voting members and assist with the co-op operations.
Members do not have any individual equity ownership and cannot sell
their units. Co-ops are
governed by the residents with an elected board of directors; there are no
outside landlords.
-
Rent
supplement agreements allow
low-income people to access housing in the private sector in which they pay
30% of their income towards rent; the remaining portion of the rent is paid
by the government to the private landlord.
Tenure:
rental
Many of the tenants are low-income
households paying 30% of their income on rent while others are moderate-income
households paying market rent.
Types
of dwellings:
high-rise buildings, houses or rooming houses, mid-rise buildings,
low-rise buildings, townhouses
Non-profit housing,
public housing and co-operative housing are operated as not-for-profits and the rent supplement agreements are made with for-profit
owners.
Access
to social housing:
Responsibility for social housing has been transferred to 47 "upper
tier" municipal governments referred to as Service
Managers, often counties or regional municipalities. The Service Managers
are responsible for funding and administration of all social housing. As well,
the Service Managers are responsible for managing "Social Housing Coordinated
Access" centres for households wanting access to social housing in their community. For
information on how to access the waiting list in your community
contact the "Social Housing Coordinated Access" in your community or call your
local municipal office and ask to connect to the Service Manager for your
area.
Funding
and administration of social housing:
Rental housing, including housing specifically targeted for seniors, is not
financially viable in the current housing market unless some form of subsidy is
provided. Since the mid 1970's a significant amount of
rental housing was built with financial support from the federal, provincial and
municipal levels of government. From 1995 to the early years of the new
millennium, very little new rental housing was built in Ontario. In April 2005
an agreement was reached between the federal and provincial governments which is
expected to see a significant increase in the new supply of affordable rental
housing.
 Where
the government provides financial support for the development of housing, some
portion of the housing is made available for low-income households on a
rent-geared-to-income basis (RGI). In RGI housing, eligible households are selected
from waiting lists maintained by the municipal government. The rent paid by the
household is calculated based on 30% of the total household income from all
sources. |
Since
2002 funding and administration of all social housing in Ontario has been
transferred to municipalities. The responsibility for housing is exercised by 47
Service Managers; these Service Managers are often "upper tier"
municipalities such as counties and regional governments. For more information
in your community contact the municipal office and ask to connect to the Service
Manager for your area.
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Adult lifestyle communities
Purpose
 Geared towards
retirees or near-retirees who have the ability to live completely independently
and who prefer to live among their peers in a lively and active community
offering amenities, including recreation and sports homes (e.g. tennis,
golf and hiking). Residents of
adult lifestyle communities may be at different stages of their lives; some continue to work, some volunteer, some are busy all day while others
prefer a slower pace. Most properties are located outside the Greater Toronto
Area (GTA).
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Tenure:
condominium, freehold, rental, land-lease, life-lease
Types of dwellings: detached bungalows, semi-detached houses,
townhouses, apartments.
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