Supported Housing

Housing Emergency Fund

OW Recipients
Housing Services Division
350 King St East, Suite 110 Hamilton, ON. L8N 3Y3
Call 905-546-4800
Email [email protected]

Low-income and ODSP recipients
Hamilton Housing Help Centre
119 Main St. East Hamilton, Ontario
Call 905-526-8100
www.housinghelpcentre.ca

Indigenous community members
Hamilton Regional Indian Centre
34 Ottawa St. N. Hamilton, Ontario
Call 905-548-9593
www.hric.ca

The Housing Emergency Fund (HEF) helps Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients, Ontario Works (OW) recipients and people with low income maintain their existing housing or establish a new residence. The Housing Emergency Fund has replaced the Housing Stability Benefit and Rent Ready programs.

ODSP and OW recipients can receive help with last month's rent, rent arrears, utility arrears.
People with low income can receive help with utility and rent arrears.

Housing Emergency Fund eligibility criteria:

Your eligibility for Housing Emergency Fund is determined using the following criteria:

Based on your benefit unit composition (household size) for both social assistance recipients and applicants deemed to have low-income, approved applicants are eligible for a maximum amount of support in a 24-month period as outlined in the table.
Accommodation costs do not exceed 95% of your household income.
You are establishing a residence for the first time or attempting to remain in your current housing, both within the geographic boundaries of the City of Hamilton.
Your circumstances meet a situation outlined in the application (i.e., being evicted, have a disconnection notice for utilities, moving to first time or more affordable housing).

Benefit Unit/Household Size	Maximum Payment
Single	$3,000
Couple	$4,000
Family (3 people)	$5,000
Family (4 people)	$6,000
Family (5+ people)	$7,000

If you are a person not in receipt of social assistance and living with a low income, income threshold is based on the 2022 Statistics Canada Low Income Measure (LIM) as follows:

Household Size - Income (after taxes)

1 person - $28,863
2 persons - $40,818
3 persons - $49,992
4 persons - $57,726
5 persons - $64,540
6 persons - $70,700
7 persons - $76,364
8 persons - $81,637
9 persons - $86,589
10 persons - $91,273

Source: Statistics Canada
Table 11-10-0232-01 - Low income measure (LIM) thresholds

Housing Emergency Fund

How to apply

Please submit completed applications and supporting documents online using the PDF application below. Your application will be reviewed and sent to the appropriate agency based on your submission. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions about the application or application submission.

Note: You will need to download the HEF application to your computer/device to complete and submit your application. If your browser opens the PDF in a browser window, you will need to download the file or you can right-click on the link below and select "Save link as..." and choose the folder you would like to save the file to.

Download HEF application(PDF, 381 KB)

Support with submitting applications

OW recipients can receive support in person at:

Housing Services Division office
350 King St. E, Unit 110, Hamilton
Ontario Works offices
250 Main St. E or 1550 Upper James, Unit 14A, Hamilton

Indigenous community members can receive support at:

Hamilton Regional Indian Centre
34 Ottawa St. N, Hamilton
Call 905-548-9593
www.hric.ca

Low-income and ODSP recipients (living in community) can receive support at:

Hamilton Housing Help Centre
119 Main St. E, Hamilton
Call 905-526-8100
www.housinghelpcentre.ca

ODSP recipients (staying in an emergency shelter) can receive support at:

Housing Services Division office
350 King St. E, Unit 110, Hamilton

Funding for the Housing Emergency Fund program is provided by the Homelessness Prevention Program (Province of Ontario) and the City of Hamilton

Cropped view of a senior woman receiving help with documents and finances

Ontario Electricity Support Program

The OESP reduces the cost of your household electricity by applying a monthly credit directly to your bill. The credit you receive depends on how many people live in your home and the combined household income.

Visit OntarioElectricitySupport.ca

Date modified

July 24, 2024