This backgrounder provides information on next steps of the Tenants First plan scheduled to go before Executive Committee on January 24, 2018. Pending decisions at Executive Committee, this report will go to City Council for consideration at its next meeting from January 31 to February 2, 2018.
In July 2016, City Council approved Tenants First – A Way Forward for Toronto Community Housing and Social Housing in Toronto which proposed changes to transform Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC).
The Tenants First Project Team was established to continue the work of the Tenants First report and has been guiding the Tenants First Implementation Plan. A 13-member Tenant Advisory Panel was created to share lived experience, knowledge and advice in the development of the plan. Input and feedback was also sought from Toronto Community Housing, the non-profit sector, TCHC tenants, City staff and others.
The overall focus of the Implementation Plan is to lay out a vision where Toronto Community Housing focuses on being a social housing provider, where buildings are in a good state of repair, and tenants are connected to appropriate services and are active participants in their communities.
Toronto Community Housing supports the goals of the report, has provided the Tenants First Project Team with the information they needed and has worked on elements of the Implementation Plan.
Phase 1 recommendations were guided by the Tenants First report and by input from the Tenants First Tenant Advisory Panel. They were unanimously approved by Council in July 2017. There were 11 recommendations included in Phase 1; the four key recommendations were:
The recommendations in the current report are the next steps towards implementing Tenants First Phase 1.
If approved and once fully implemented, these recommendations will benefit TCHC tenants in the following ways:
This report is also closely aligned with Housing Opportunities Toronto Today, TO Prosperity: Toronto Poverty Reduction Strategy, Toronto Youth Equity Strategy, Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020, and Toronto Newcomer Strategy.
If approved by Executive Committee, and then Council, the Tenants First team will begin work on the following;
In addition, the Tenants First team will continue work with Toronto Community Housing on implementing the Tenants First plan and will return to Executive Committee, and then Council, in Q2 of 2018. The team is then expected to bring forward recommendations related to the TCHC seniors portfolio.
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Media contact: Eric Holmes, Strategic Communications, 416-392-2708, eric.holmes@toronto.ca