The City of Toronto partners with housing providers to create new affordable homes in purpose-built rental developments. These partnerships provide residents with better access to affordable housing, by ensuring that a portion of new homes in purpose-built rental developments are offered at or below Average Market Rent (AMR). The AMR is published yearly by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in the Rental Market Report.
To match prospective tenants with affordable homes, the housing provider launches an expression of interest (EOI) period, during which time interested potential tenants can submit their EOI. When this period closes, the list of names is randomized. Households are then invited by the housing provider to apply in order of the randomized list.
Depending on the number of available homes, this process may take between 60 to 90 days from the close of the EOI phase. After successful applicants from the top of the randomized list have accepted homes, the remaining households will comprise the waitlist for homes upon turnover.
Housing providers must abide by the Residential Tenancies Act for applicant screening and are expected to work with successful applicants to allow them to provide adequate notice to their current landlords.
The current random selection process for allocating affordable housing units is an interim approach used by both private and non-profit housing providers. The City is currently developing a Centralized Access for Affordable Rental Housing, as directed by Council in July 2022.
The City is actively working to create more affordable housing. This work is guided by the HousingTO 2020-2030 Action Plan which will help create a range of housing opportunities. To help achieve this, the City aims to approve 40,000 new affordable rental homes, including 18,000 deeply affordable homes with supports, as well as 4,000 affordable ownership homes by 2030.
A new rental community is opening at 610 Martin Grove Rd. in Etobicoke, at Martin Grove and Eglinton. Scheduled for occupancy in November 2025, this newly built property will offer a mix of affordable apartments and a variety of modern amenities, all in a convenient and charming location.
The 87 designated affordable rental homes will be a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. For one- and two-bedroom units, the rent payable is $1,630 and $1,859, respectively and is subject to the Provincial rent increase guideline. These affordable homes will be filled through a random draw process coordinated by the developer, Minto Apartments. To enter the random draw, complete the registration form available on Minto’s website.
More information about the units and the application process for the random draw can be found in FAQs available on Minto’s website.
The deadline to submit an application is August 3, 2025 at 5 p.m.
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