Tenants First | City of Hamilton

A hand holds a set of keys in the air with an apartment building in the background

A New Chapter in Tenant-Centered Service

CityHousing Hamilton (CHH) is proud to be the largest provider of affordable housing in our city. As Hamilton grows and changes, so must we. That’s why we’re undergoing a major transformation—one that puts tenants first and prepares us to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in housing improvements over the next decade.

Why We’re Changing: A New Era of Tenant-Centered Service and Sustainable Growth

Hamilton is facing a housing and affordability crisis. To meet this challenge head-on, CHH is realigning our organization to better support tenants, improve services, and strengthen our communities. Because of our distinct role as the largest affordable housing provider in Hamilton, people expect us to be more helpful, more purposeful, and more intentional about the impacts we can have over those of a traditional landlord.

This transformation is guided by:

Extensive tenant feedback
Insights from our Tenants First Team
Input from our dedicated staff

Built on Tenant Feedback

This transformation didn’t happen in a boardroom—it happened through conversations with tenants and staff.

We heard that:

Tenants want faster, clearer communication
Tenants need support that supports lived experiences
Tenants want to be proud of where they call home

What’s New?

Starting October 6, 2025, tenants will notice some important changes designed to make tenants experience with CHH simpler, more responsive, and more supportive. We’re adding new full-time staff to support this transformation.

One Point of Contact

Tenants will now have a Tenant Services Coordinator - a single point of contact for tenants, supporting everything from lease signings to support services.

Dedicated Property Support

We’re also introducing a new role: the Building Services Coordinator, who will focus on physical property needs in apartment buildings, ensuring issues like inspections and reviewing property-related requests are looked after promptly - ensuring CityHousing Hamilton properties are safe, well-maintained, and comfortable. At our townhouses and singles and semi-detached homes, a Townhouse Coordinator will be responsible for property-related matters like inspections and reviewing property-related requests.

These positions will replace Property Managers and Tenant Support Workers.

What This Means for Tenants

These changes are designed to:

Respond more effectively to your needs
Improve how we repair, renew, and restore our buildings
Expand and enhance services that tenants depend on

Investing in Sustainability and Growth

CityHousing Hamilton is preparing to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in new and retrofitted housing over the next 10 years. Much of this work will support our commitment to long-term sustainability, energy efficiency, and accessibility. We are streamlining delivery, reducing duplication, and focusing on larger scale- whole building retrofit projects that can be completed more efficiently and effectively.

This includes:

Coordinating whole-building retrofits to maximize impact and minimize tenant disruption
Aligning funding strategies to maximize every dollar
Enhancing tenant engagement by making it more focused and less fragmented

These changes are effective October 6, 2025.

The approved changes will strengthen CityHousing Hamilton's ability to deliver on critical day-to-day services to tenants and the evolving landscape of the city, plan for the future, and support acute workload challenges.

What does this mean for tenants

Organizational Changes

New Structure

This reorganization is more than just a structural evolution. It is a transformational change that embodies CityHousing Hamilton's dedication to putting tenants first.

These changes will allow CityHousing Hamilton to:

Respond more effectively to the dynamic needs of tenants,
Better strategize to repair, renew, and restore CityHousing Hamilton properties
Enhance and expand CityHousing Hamilton services in the communities served.

Extensive tenant feedback helped inform these changes, as well as feedback from the Tenants First Team, CityHousing Hamilton's first formal tenant advisory committee.

Tenants will now have a single point of contact as of October 6, 2025. Tenants will no longer have a Property Manager or Tenant Support Worker.

Tenant Services Coordinator

Tenants will now have a Tenant Services Coordinator—a single point of contact for tenants, supporting everything from lease signings to support services.

Building Services Coordinator

We’re also introducing a new role: the Building Services Coordinator, who will focus on physical property needs in apartment buildings, ensuring issues like inspections and reviewing property-related requests are looked after promptly -ensuring CityHousing Hamilton properties are safe, well-maintained, and comfortable. At our townhouses and singles and semi-detached homes, a Townhouse Coordinator will be responsible for property-related matters like inspections and reviewing property-related requests.

These changes are effective October 6, 2025.

More information will be provided to tenants closer to October 6, including opportunities to meet new staff.

The following positions have been approved or made permanent:

Supervisor, Tenant Services
Tenant Services Coordinator
Supervisor, Community Wellbeing
Project Manager of Coordinated Community Resolution
Intensive Case Manager
Tenant Engagement Coordinator
Supervisor, Building Services
Townhouse Coordinator
Building Services Coordinator
Caretakers
Supervisor, Tenant Resolutions
Building Automation Technologist

CityHousing Hamilton has eliminated or reclassified the following existing positions to better support organizational needs:

Property Managers
Tenant Support Worker/ Lead
Tenant Placement Rep
Tenant Admin Rep Lead
Maintenance Administrator
Delivery Clerk

Office of the Chief Executive Officer

Adam Sweedland is the Chief Executive Officer

The Strategy and Quality Improvement team supports the organization by ensuring CityHousing Hamilton is consistent, strategic, standardized, and prepared from a people, technology, and communications perspective. This team is responsible for guiding and implementing an overarching vision, identity, and strategy to position CityHousing Hamilton as a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization and community.

Amanda Warren-Ritchie is the Manager, Strategy and Quality Improvement.

This department is focused on supporting tenants through all stages of their tenancy by providing access to quality health and well-being services and supports along with property management. This department includes Tenant Services, Community Safety and Supports, and Building Services.

Leanne Ward is the Chief Operating Officer.

This team is focused primarily on day-to-day individual tenancy-related issues with a focus on building relationships with tenants. This team handles tenant placement, rent calculations, administration for the portfolio. They also look after lease-signings, follow up visits, referrals to supports, investigating requests and complaints and managing arrears and eviction prevention.

Tracy Murphy is the Manager, Tenant Services

This team focuses on services at a community level and supports individuals expericing acute challenges. Works to ensure tenants are engaged, supported, and everyone living in CHH communities feel connected and safe.

Gillian McLaughlin is the Manager, Community Safety and Supports.

buildings, addressing tenant service requests and coordinator with external vendors to complete work.

Brian Kinaschuk is the Manager, Building Services.

This department focuses on the development, repair, and retention of CityHousing Hamilton’s affordable housing units.

Sean Botham is the Chief Portfolio Officer.

This team executes the consolidated strategic delivery of development capital projects focused on large scale whole-building retrofits. This department includes Development, Asset Renewal, and Building Systems and Preventative Programs.

Peter Vander Klippe is the (Acting) Manager, Development.

This team focuses on delivering unplanned capital projects or special projects – such as emergencies and capital projects funded through area-rated funds.

Bernice Lilley is the Manager, Asset Renewal.

This team is focused on developing and monitoring plans and controls for preventative maintenance and building systems programming.

Tammi Fougere is the Manager, Building Systems and Preventative Programs.

This team is responsible for providing the organizational coordination, support, and administration of services that include payments, collections, payroll and financial systems.

Rochelle Desouza is the Chief Financial Officer.

Date modified

July 31, 2025