Housing Help in Toronto

The Housing Help Centre works with both individuals and families in the City of Toronto to find and maintain affordable, safe housing. We work one-on-one with you to determine your housing needs, connect you to other government services, and to match you with landlords across the city.

We help people who need all types of assistance with their housing, whether that involves mediating between tenants and landlords, preventing evictions, and providing referrals for other services, such as employment and legal assistance and other community support services for housing stabilization.

Landlord Recruitment Program

We work directly with private market landlords to build a database of available affordable housing, and we’re always looking for more landlords to recruit. We then connect the landlords in our network with people who are at risk of becoming homeless or are currently homeless. Considering the difficulty that at-risk populations have with accessing the private rental market, our landlord recruitment program is a valuable way to help unhoused people in Toronto.

Our rental listing database is updated every week. You can visit THHC in Scarborough to get a print copy for your own use.

Information Sessions

We run information sessions about how to access social and community resources, and how to navigate different administrative systems to get the help you need. Our information sessions provide information on a variety of topics, including:

• Subsidized (rent-geared-to-income housing) and market rent housing in Toronto
• Rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords in Ontario
• Information on settlement program: Housing, employment, education, health, citizenship and daily life in Canada
• Financial literacy: Banking information, taxation, social assistance and other benefits from government
• Access to THHC’s Financial Assistance Programs: Rent Bank, Low-income Energy Assistance Programs (LEAP), Emergency Energy Fund (EEF) and  Ontario Electricity Support Program (OESP).

Financial Assistance with Rent and LEAP/EEF for Electricity and Gas Arrears

If you’re having trouble paying your rent or electricity/gas bills and live in the City of Toronto, there are a number of ways we can help.

Toronto Rent Bank: If you live in Toronto and are at risk of eviction because of rental arrears, the Toronto Rent Bank can help. This program provides a grant to eligible applicants so they can pay off overdue rent. It also offers grants to people who need money to cover rental deposits (first and last month’s rent) in emergencies. It also provides grants to people to cover rent deposits (first and last month’s rent). These grants help low-income people who currently face financial crisis due to loss of job or other unexpected expenses occurred in the family. To check your eligibility please call us.

Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP): If you’re past due on your electricity or gas bills, we can help you apply for a grant worth up to $500 to pay your bills.

Emergency Energy Fund (EEF): If you live in Toronto, we can help you apply for a one-time grant worth up to $1000 to help you pay your electricity and gas bills.

Ontario Electricity Support Program (OSEP): This program allows low-income households in Ontario to pay a reduced rate on their electricity bills by providing a monthly bill credit. Eligibility for this program depends on household income and size.

Our Itinerant locations

The Housing Help Centre is partnered with a number of organizations across Toronto and York Region to provide comprehensive access to services. Here is a list of which organizations we’ve partnered with, and where each one is located.

Toronto Public Library

Malvern Branch 30 Sewells Rd, Scarborough Tuesdays: 12:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Community Agencies

Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention (ASAAP) 120 Carlton St. #212, Toronto, M5A 4K3
call for appointments, (416) 599-2727

Catholic Cross-Cultural Services 3227 Eglinton Ave E, Scarborough Thursdays: 1 pm – 4 pm

TNG Community Services (St. Stephen's Community House) 5231 Yonge Street, Unit 200, North York
Thursdays: 1:00 pm - 5 pm

Our Supervisor

To learn about our housing help, Rent Bank, LEAP/EEF, OESP and settlement services in Toronto, call Ambi Sinna at 416 285 8070 ext. 310 or email ambi.sinna@thhc.org.