Q3 (July 1 to September 30, 2019) to Board of Directors

Recommendation:

That Niagara Regional Housing Quarterly Report July 1 to September 30, 2019 be APPROVED and FORWARDED to the Public Health and Social Services Committee and subsequently to Regional and Municipal Councils for information.

Submitted by:	Approved by:
Donna Woiceshyn Chief Executive Officer	Walter Sendzik Chair

Highlights:

Appliction Activity 773 received & processed	Work Orders 3,111 issued
Capital Program 7 projects ongoing 52 contract orders issued	Rent Arrears = $35,549.21 or 2.80% of the monthly rent charges
Community Resources & Partnerships Offered supports to 294 new referrals Had partnerships with 46 community agencies	Non-Profit Housing Programs 67% deemed HEALTHY
Rent Supplement/Housing Allowance 1,440 units	Niagara Renovates 46 homeowners have been approved for funding
Welcome Home Niagara 6 homeowners received assistance	Housing First Project 15 Individuals / families housed
Appeals = 10 9 upheld 1 overturned	New Development Carlton - complete Roach - approximately 95% complete

As the administrator of social housing for Niagara Region, Niagara Regional Housing (NRH) works to fulfill our vision and mission through six main areas of responsibility:

1. Public Housing (NRH Owned Units)
2. Non-Profit Housing Programs
3. Rent Supplement Program
4. Affordable Housing Program
5. Service Manager Responsibilities
6. Housing Access Centre and Centralized Waiting List

DAY-TO-DAY MAINTENANCE:

In Q3, 3,111 work orders were issued, representing $947,578.06. $63,676.44 of this amount was charged back to tenants who were held responsible for damages.

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
# of work orders issued	3,216	3,203	2,500	3,084	3,111

CAPITAL PROGRAM:

The Capital Program is responsible for maintaining the Public Housing (NRH Owned Units) asset and planning for future sustainability.

In Q3, 52 contract orders were issued and purchase orders issued $4,012,345

The Capital Program was responsible for 7 capital projects valued at $4,300,000 including:

• 2 projects - pavement retrofits
• 1 project - booster pump replacements
• 1 project - sealant replacements
• 1 project - balcony repairs
• 1 project - shingle roof replacement
• 1 project - concrete repairs
• 52 RFP's and RFQ's - various investigations, health and safety repairs, emergency repairs, structural repairs and pavement retrofits

As of September 30, 2019, $7,203,207 of the $11.7 budgeted (excluding emergency) has been committed and or actually spent (61%).

TENANT MOVE OUTS:

Move Outs By Reason

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
# of move outs	89	65	51	86	57

ARREARS:

NRH Housing Operations actively works to reduce rent arrears which have remained consistent from 2018-Q3 to 2019-Q3.

	Sept 30, 2018	Dec 31, 2018	Mar 31, 2019	Jun 30, 2019	Sept 30, 2019
Rent charges for the month	$1,165,765.00	$1,187,770.00	$1,203,317.00	$1,257,090.00	$1,267,460.00
Accumulated rent arrears	$23,378.86	$24,135.76	$35,736.89	$34,004.39	$35,549,21
Arrears %	2.01%	2.03%	2.97%	2.71%	2.80%

INSURANCE:

Nothing to report in Q3.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND PARTNERSHIPS:

In Q3, we had partnerships with 46 community agencies across Niagara. As a result of these partnerships, more than 200 support and enrichment activities were offered to tenants at NRH sites. Each partnership contributes to tenant lives and, in turn, the success of the Public Housing community as a whole:

• NRH joined with partners – March of Dimes, Community Support Services Niagara and Niagara Region Senior Programs – to celebrate the 10 Year Anniversary of the Wellness Supportive Living Program (WSLP). This program runs out of NRH communities at Buckley (Niagara Falls), Gale Crescent and Carlton Street (St. Catharines) and King Street (Welland). Offering support ranging from a bathing station to medication prompts to wellness workshops to social activities, WSLP has made an enormous difference in the lives of NRH tenants and reduced their dependence on emergency services. This program has been featured in numerous publications and at conferences as a best practice to help seniors live independently and age at home more successfully.

Also during Q3, NRH Community Programs Coordinators (CPCs) offered support to 294 new referrals of tenants in need of assistance. Of those new referrals, 57% were considered medium-high need, (e.g. child safety concerns, eviction, social issues, cognitive concerns). In particular, there was an increase in the number of tenants needing help with clutter and bed bugs.

As administrator of social housing for Niagara Region, NRH provides legislative oversight for 60 Non-Profit Housing Programs (non-profit and co-operative). Operational Reviews are conducted to determine the overall health of each.

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
Healthy	41	40	40	40	40
Routine Monitoring	18	17	18	17	17
Intensive Monitoring	1	2	0	1	1
Pre-PID (Project in Difficulty)	1	1	1	1	1
PID (Project in Difficulty)	1	1	1	1	1
TOTAL	62	61	60	60	60

NRH Housing Programs staff continue to work with Federal Housing Providers as they move toward End of Operating Agreements (EOA).

In Q3, there were 1,440 Rent Supplement/Housing Allowance units across Niagara. In the Rent Supplement program, tenants pay 30% of their gross monthly income directly to the private landlord and NRH subsidizes the difference up to the market rent for the unit. The Housing Allowance program is a short term program that provides a set allowance to help applicants on the wait list.

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
Fort Erie	28	28	26	32	32
Grimsby	26	26	34	26	24
Lincoln (Beamsville)	12	11	11	11	11
Niagara Falls	230	230	235	239	240
Niagara-on-the-Lake	--	--	4	5	5
Pelham	22	21	20	19	19
Port Colborne	51	53	67	62	65
St. Catharines	719	732	741	780	773
Thorold	54	53	57	61	56
Welland	197	201	209	203	200
West Lincoln	15	15	15	15	15
TOTAL	1,354	1,370	1,419	1,453	1,440

Variance in the Rent Supplement program are a reflection of fluctuation between agreements ending and new agreements taken up with landlords.

In Q3, an In-Situ Rent Supplement Program was developed to engage new landlords and offer applicants on the Centralized Waiting List an opportunity to receive Rent-Geared-to-Income assistance where they currently live. This removes the need for moving related expenses and broadens the network of landlords in business with NRH.

NIAGARA RENOVATES PROGRAM:

The Niagara Renovates program provides assistance to low-to-moderate income homeowners for home repairs, accessibility modifications and the creation of secondary suites in single family homes.

Niagara Renovates inspections for 2019-2020 funding are underway. Inspections include all areas inside and outside of the home to ensure compliance with program guidelines. Issues are identified and a detailed Inspection Report is provided to the homeowner.

NRH received $600,000 through the Investment in Affordable Housing - Extension (IAH-E) program for homeowner and secondary suite repairs and $311,015 for multi-unit repairs, totaling $911,015 for the 2019/2020 period.

46 homeowners have been approved for funding.

HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM – "WELCOME HOME NIAGARA":

The Homeownership program assists low-to-moderate income rental households to purchase their first home by providing a down payment loan.

NRH received $180,000 through the Investment in Affordable Housing - Extension (IAH-E) program for the 2019/2020 period, with $100,000 of that allocated to Habitat for Humanity Niagara.

In Q3, six homeowners received assistance through Welcome Home Niagara.

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
# of homeowners assisted	14	19	0	4	6

HOUSING FIRST PROGRAM:

The Housing First program helps people move quickly from homelessness to their own home by providing supports to help difficult to house individuals find and keep housing.

In Q3, 15 individuals/families were housed through the Housing First program. Since 2012, Housing First has helped 422 individuals/families.

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
# individuals/families housed	9	27	10	23	15
# of Housing First units (at quarter end)	178	184	189	198	197

17 of these Housing First units were created with NRH’s new development at 527 Carlton Street in St. Catharines.

RENTAL HOUSING (NEW DEVELOPMENT):

NRH New Development

	Amount	Units
Carlton Street, St. Catharines
Investment in Affordable Housing-Extension (IAH-E), Year 3	$5,806,000	45
Investment in Affordable Housing-Extension (IAH-E), Year 4	$2,888,000	23
Social Infrastructure Fund (SIF), Year 1	$2,387,817	17
Roach Avenue, Welland
Social Infrastructure Fund (SIF), Year 1	$1,200,000	8
TOTAL	$12,281,817	93

Roach Avenue
• 2nd floor – finishing trades 98% complete, minor deficiencies and cleanup outstanding
• 1st floor – finishing trades 90% 9omplete, finish carpentry and final painting in progress
• Sprinkler and mechanical commissioning in progress
• Building envelope complete
• Site Services – complete, parking lot paved and lines painted, sidewalk incomplete
• Landscaping has not started
• Project approximately 95% complete
• Project forecast completion November 1, 2019

Additional New Development

Investment in Affordable Housing-Extension (IAH-E), Year 2 funding has been allocated to three non-profit organizations and will result in the creation of 40 units for seniors and mental health consumers in Niagara:

	Amount	Units
Gateway Residences of Niagara, Huron Street, Niagara Falls COMPLETE	$720,000	9
Thorold Municipal Non-Profit, Ormond Street, Thorold COMPLETE	$1,228,912	14
Stamford Kiwanis, Barker Street, Niagara Falls	$1,089,088	17
TOTAL	$3,038,000	40

Stamford Kiwanis
• Expected substantial completion December 1, 2019

APPEALS:

In Q3, 10 appeals were heard (five less than in 2018-Q3).

• Four related to ongoing RGI eligibility
  • One Housing Provider appeal for former tenancy arrears – UPHELD with conditions
  • One for former rent arrears and subsidy overpayment – UPHELD with conditions
  • One for failure to report income change – UPHELD with conditions
  • One regarding illegal occupant – OVERTURNED with conditions
• One related to review of rent increase – UPHELD – tenant brought in more payroll information; NRH will recalculate rent
• Five for decisions made by Housing Access
  • Four (Urgent Status) – UPHELD
  • One (extra bedroom) – UPHELD

	2018-Q3	2018-Q4	2019-Q1	2019-Q2	2019-Q3
# of appeals	15	12	10	12	10

INVESTMENTS:

See Appendix A – Investment Report

APPLICATION ACTIVITY:

CENTRALIZED WAITING LIST:

		2018- Q3	2018- Q4	2019- Q1	2019- Q2	2019- Q3
		# of households
A	Rent-Geared-to-income (RGI) waiting list:
	Niagara resident RGI waiting list	4,642	4,616	4,715	4,926	5,012
	Applicants from outside Niagara	758	761	793	849	897
TOTAL RGI waiting list:		5,400	5,377	5,508	5,775	5,909
	Housing Allowance: a set allowance to help applicants on the waiting list with affordability in the private market until housed in an RGI unit	618	639	704	742	747
A1	RGI waiting list demographics:
	Seniors	2,236	2,218	2,257	2,344	2,362
	Adults no dependents	1,764	1,761	1,805	1,881	1,922
	Adults with dependents	1,400	1,398	1,446	1,550	1,625
A2	RGI list further segmented (#’s included in A & A1):
	SPP – Special Provincial Priority (Ministry Priority): helps victims of violence separate permanently from their abuser	129	131	128	148	165
	URG – Urgent (Local Priority): for applicants with mobility barriers and/or extreme hardship where their current accommodation puts them at extreme risk and/or causes hardship	123	116	117	109	130
	UHML – Homeless (Local Priority): provides increased opportunity for placement to homeless households	947	954	971	1,012	1,007
	SUP – Supportive/Transitional: provides targeted, provisional services to assist individuals to transition beyond basic needs to more permanent housing	13	13	15	11	12
B	In addition, NRH manages:
	Overhoused: households who are living in subsidized accommodation with more bedrooms than they are eligible for	171	168	180	176	181
	Transfer: households who are currently living in subsidized accommodation and have requested a transfer to another provider	547	535	564	573	603
TOTAL RGI households on waiting list managed by NRH:		6,118	6,080	6,252	6,524	6,693
C	NRH maintains a waiting list for market rent units (62 Non-Profit Housing Programs):
	Market: applicants who have applied for a market rent unit in the Non-Profit Housing Programs portfolio	629	647	667	723	752
TOTAL households on waiting list managed by NRH:		6,747	6,727	6,919	7,274	7,445
TOTAL individuals on waiting list managed by NRH:		11,496	11,488	11,884	12,577	13,059

Note: the above chart includes only those who apply to the Centralized Waiting List and does not capture the full number of those in need of affordable housing in Niagara.

ESTIMATED WAIT TIMES:

CITY	SENIORS Age 55 and older		SINGLES Age 16-54		HOUSEHOLDS WITH DEPENDENTS
	Bachelor	1 Bed	Bachelor	1 Bed	2 Bed	3 Bed	4 Bed	5 Bed
	YEARS
Forst Erie	-	9	2	8.5	2	1	5	-
Grimsby	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-
Lincoln	-	4.5	-	12	9	8	-	-
Niagara Falls	4	6	-	16	5	3	7	14
Niagara-on-the-Lake	-	6.5	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pelham	-	3.5	-	-	-	-	-	-
Port Colborne	-	4.5	-	13	3	3	3	-
St. Catharines	-	6.5	9	13	3.5	3	9	12
Thorold	-	6.5	-	10	6	8	-	-
Welland	-	5	6	15	5	2.5	7	2
West Lincoln	-	4	-	-	5.5	7	-	-

- no units of this size available in this community

Please note:

• wait time information can fluctuate and is an approximation only
• wait times may not reflect the actual time one may wait for affordable housing