Here you will find major staff reports and current research on homelessness trends and service use.
There are more than 8,000 people experiencing homelessness in Toronto. New homes with support services are urgently needed to ensure everyone has a warm, safe place to call home. In 2020, City Council adopted the 24-Month COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Recovery Response Plan which outlines a plan for the City to accelerate the creation of 2,000 supportive homes and 1,000 housing benefits to create 3,000 new affordable housing opportunities in 24 months. To provide this rapid response, the City uses either innovative modular construction on City-owned land or acquires existing buildings (such as hotels or motels) that need renovations. The City also partners with, funds, and supports non-profit partners to acquire new properties or develop their own land to create new supportive housing.
The City has secured funding, including from the federal government, to exceed these targets and is on track to deliver over 2,000 supportive homes, as well as over 1,000 Canada-Ontario Housing Benefits. The majority of the new housing opportunities will be created by the end of 2022.
In May 2022, the Ontario Government committed $27 million in additional operating funding for supportive housing costs associated with buildings set to open in 2022, and committed to partnering with the City on its 24 Month Housing and Homelessness Recovery Plan to provide ongoing operating funding for supportive housing units set to come online by the end of 2023.
The following provides updates on the creation of over 2,000 new supportive housing opportunities identified in the 24-Month Plan, including the number of units with confirmed provincial funding for support services.
This A to Z glossary provides stakeholders with a list of key terms and definitions for housing and homelessness services.
The service system overview groups services into related categories.
These resources outline tips, protocols and practices that Toronto Shelter and Support Services staff should follow when engaging with Indigenous partners and communities in keeping with the Meeting in the Middle Engagement Strategy and Action Plan, co-created with the Indigenous Community Advisory Board and the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council.
Toronto has a network of almost 2,400 laneways that stretch over 300km throughout some of Toronto’s most desirable, walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods. Architects, planners and urbanists have long considered laneways an untapped resource for infill housing.
The Laneway Suites report proposes a new vision for laneway housing, which recognizes detached secondary suites, including laneways suites, as non-severable and ancillary to the principal dwelling.
Toronto has submitted its proposals to the federal government’s National Housing Strategy consultation. Taking Action on Housing speaks to the housing crisis in Toronto and across the country that has engulfed so many – from seniors to young professionals to vulnerable persons.
The federal government has released a Summary Report of what it heard during consultations.
The City’s Private Sector Housing Roundtable propose the City pursue a strategy which would “reset” a number of City housing policies and more strongly engage the federal and provincial governments in investing in affordable housing.
Home ownership is a widely-accepted way to build equity and ensure one’s housing quality, yet it is out of reach for many Toronto households. This study examines the impact of federal and provincial investments and the work of the City of Toronto’s Affordable Housing Office, in partnership with non-profit housing providers, to facilitate affordable home ownership, between 2006 and 2011.
Subsidized Housing Waiting List Data: Quarterly reports showing data related to the centralized waiting list for subsidized housing (also called rent-geared-to-income housing) administered by the City of Toronto.
Learn more about subsidized housing or rent-geared-to-income housing.