City Guideline 2016-3: Factors to be used in 2017 Fiscal Year to Calculate Subsidies – Market & RGI
Applicability to Social Housing programs
The City Guideline is applicable to the programs for which there is an “X” in the table below.
| Applicability | Program |
|
X |
Housing Services Act, Part VII Housing Projects, Market and Rent-Geared-to-Income, Section 78 Housing Providers (formerly 110) |
| Housing Services Act, Part VII Housing Projects, 100% Rent-Geared-to-Income, Section 78 Housing Providers (formerly 110) | |
| Federal Non-Profit Housing, Section 26/27 | |
| Federal Non-Profit Housing, Section 95 | |
| Rent Supplement Programs for Sections 26, 27, 95 and New Affordable Housing Providers | |
| Toronto Community Housing Corporation |
About City Guidelines
Under the authority of the Housing Services Act, the City of Toronto, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA) Division City Guidelines and Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) Manual are the authority for housing administration and RGI administration for social housing providers in the City of Toronto.
City Guidelines are the City of Toronto’s mandatory policies and procedures that social housing providers must follow. City Guidelines are most often issued when a Local Rule is established by the City of Toronto, the Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) manual is updated, or other relevant legislative changes or operational requirements occur. City Guidelines which impact RGI have been incorporated into the RGI Manual.
Please see www.toronto.ca/socialhousing for more information.
Background
The Ministry of Housing (MH) provides indices for costs and revenues to calculate subsidies under the Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA) on an annual basis, needed for the calculation for 2017 subsidies. This document provides a summary and links to this indices, in addition to direction for specified social housing providers to utilize this.
What you should know about Cost Factors
Cost factors are inflationary factors used to calculate:
- the indexed Benchmark operating costs within the operating subsidy calculation; and
- their capital replacement reserve fund allocations.
Housing providers must use the following cost factors when calculating their subsidies for the fiscal year beginning in January 1, 2017.
Table 1 – 2017 Indices for Benchmark Costs for Mixed Non-Profit Projects
| Item | Index Description | 2017 Index |
| administration and maintenance | Ontario CPI – All items | 1.88% |
| insurance | Ontario CPI – Homeowner’s home and mortgage insurance sub-index | 3.74% |
| bad debt | Market Rent Index | See MRI Table 3 below |
| electricity | Ontario CPI – Electricity sub-index | 15.38% |
| water | Ontario CPI – Water sub-index | 5.73% |
| natural gas | Ontario CPI – Natural gas sub-index | -10.50% |
| oil and other fuel | Ontario CPI – Oil and other fuel sub-index | -16.52% |
| capital reserves | Ontario CPI – All items | 1.88% |
Table 2 – 2017 Indices for Benchmark Revenues for Mixed Non-Profit Projects
| Item | Index Description | 2017 Index |
| vacancy loss | Market Rent Index | See MRI Table 3 below |
| non-rental revenue | Factor of 1 | Factor of 1 |
Table 3 – 2017 Toronto Market Rent Indices (MRI)
| Toronto District | Rent District Codes | Apartment Average Rent | (Row)Townhouse Average Rent |
| 2017 Market Rent Index | 2017 Market Rent Index | ||
| Toronto Zone 1 – Former City of Toronto (Central) | M1A1 | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 2 – Former City of Toronto (East) | M1A2 | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 3 – Former City of Toronto (North) | M1A3 | 1.5 % | -1.4 % |
| Toronto Zone 4 – Former City of Toronto (West) | M1A4 | 1.5 % | -4.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 5 – Etobicoke (South) | M1C1 | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 6 – Etobicoke (Central) | M1C2 | 1.5 % | 0.6 % |
| Toronto Zone 7 – Etobicoke (North) | M1C3 | 1.5 % | 1.5 % |
| Toronto Zone 8 – York | M1F | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 9 – East York | M1B | 1.5 % | 1.5 % |
| Toronto Zone 10 – Scarborough (Central) | M1E1 | 1.5 % | -3.3 % |
| Toronto Zone 11 – Scarborough (North) | M1E2 | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 12 – Scarborough (East) | M1E3 | 1.5 % | 0.0 |
| Toronto Zone 13 – North York (Southeast) | M1D1 | 1.5 % | 1.5 % |
| Toronto Zone 14 – North York (Northeast) | M1D2 | 1.5 % | 0.5 % |
| Toronto Zone 15 – North York (Southwest) | M1D3 | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 16 – North York (North Central) | M1D5 | 1.5 % | 0.0 % |
| Toronto Zone 17 – North York (Northwest) | M1D4 | 1.5 % | -0.5 % |
Actions required
Social housing provider RGI administrators (SHPs) must take the following actions:
- All Market and Rent-Geared-to-Income, Section 78 Housing Providers must use the indices indicated in Tables 1, 2 and 3 to calculate the indicated costs items and revenues for fiscal years beginning in 2017.
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact your Social Housing Consultant or the SHU:
Social Housing Unit
Shelter, Support & Housing Administration
City of Toronto
365 Bloor Street East, 15th floor
Toronto, ON M4W 3L4
Telephone: 416-392-4126
Email: socialhousing@toronto.ca
Website: www.toronto.ca/socialhousing
