10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan Refresh

Every municipality is required to have a 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan (10-Year Plan) under the provincial Housing Services Act, 2011, and this has been a requirement since 2014. The Province sets the basic requirements for what housing and homelessness plans must include. At a high level, they must be 10 years in length, be refreshed every 5 years, and include:

• An assessment of current and future housing needs
• Objectives and targets related to these needs
• Measures to meet the needs
• How progress will be measured

The City last updated it’s 10-Year Plan in 2020, so the 5-year refresh is underway. The refresh includes:

• Looking at our current and future housing needs
• Creating new objectives and targets that meet our housing needs
• Reviewing how we will achieve the plan’s goals
• Deciding how we will measure progress

Sign-up for ongoing updates as we work with the community to update the plan.

The City’s first 10-Year Plan was released in 2014 and it was updated in 2020. The current 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan (2020–2030) guides the City's efforts to address local housing and homelessness needs. The infographic below provides an overview of current goals and objectives.

In 2025, the 10-Year Plan is being refreshed to respond to changes in our housing market and residents’ needs.

Did you know that every year, the City reports on progress made towards achieving 10-Year Plan targets? The 2023 Progress Report on the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan highlighted key outcomes including:

• 700 new affordable housing options for low-to moderate-income households created
• Over 300 households housed through the Housing First program
• Over 380 individuals with a history of chronic homelessness housed

Sign-up for ongoing updates as we work with the community to update the plan.

When we think of someone who is homeless, we often have an idea in our minds of someone living on the street. But homelessness takes many forms.

Our recent survey, called the Point-in-Time count, revealed that many people experiencing homelessness in our community are in hospitals, correctional facilities or emergency shelters, or even staying with family or friends. People with no housing security or who are couch surfing are all considered to be experiencing homelessness.

How did they end up homeless? The causes of homelessness reflect an intricate interplay between structural factors, systems failures and individual circumstances. Those surveyed provided many different reasons and situations for their housing loss, but the leading causes were:

• Inability to pay their rent or mortgage
• Unsafe housing conditions
• Conflict with a spouse or partner, parent or guardian, landlord or other person

Other factors included domestic violence, family breakdown, loss of employment, aging out of the child welfare system, and a lack of affordable housing and lack of social supports. These issues affect all age groups. Anyone can find themselves homeless. To find out more, visit the 2024 PiT Count Dashboard.

Did you know that the Point-in-Time count is a nationally coordinated effort to capture information about homelessness in Canada that is completed every 3 years? For the 2024 edition, the City took a personalized approach that helped connect with those experiencing homelessness.

The City uses a variety of programs and subsidies to help make housing more affordable for low-to moderate income residents.

New construction: The City provides capital funding to housing providers to develop new affordable and supportive housing units every year. In 2023, 49 new affordable and 57 new supportive housing units were completed and 831 affordable and supportive housing units were under construction.

Rent-geared-to-income assistance: This subsidy reduces the cost of housing so that households pay 30 percent of their monthly income on rent. Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) assistance is provided through the Centralized Waiting List (CWL) managed by The Social Housing Registry on behalf of the City. In 2023, 1,186 households were housed from the CWL.

Housing allowance: This subsidy, paid to the household or the landlord, helps households pay rent. In 2023, 610 new housing benefits were provided to residents in need.

Did you know that the City provides funding to redevelop and construct new affordable housing like Nepean Housing Corporation’s Dunbar Court?

The City’s Housing and Homelessness Services contracts 55 community agencies to help residents get the supports they need to find and keep housing.

• General housing assistance helps residents find housing and supports to those facing eviction or dealing with other landlord-tenant issues. This includes financial assistance, case management, diversion and education. These services help residents keep their home or find alternative housing.
• Street outreach identifies people who do not have shelter and connects them with support and housing services.
• In-reach programs support people who are leaving correctional facilities with no fixed address by helping them find housing and reintegrate into the community.
• Day programs support residents receiving housing services, by providing meals, organizing events and providing connections to other community resources.
• Housing First Housing-based Case Managers support individuals and families who are no longer experiencing chronic homelessness and have permanent housing. These case managers provide individualized case management and practical supports for cooking, budgeting, maintenance, and landlord and neighbor relations.
• Housing benefits provide financial support to residents facing eviction and people who need to find housing. These benefits can help with unpaid rent and utilities, last month's rent, utility deposits, moving expenses, essential furniture and direct payment for rent.
• Supportive housing provides affordable housing and supports services to help people live independently.
• The Ontario Renovates program provides funding to help low-income seniors and people with disabilities who own their home with repairs and accessibility modifications to support independent living.
• Housing subsidies provide low-income households with financial support to help lower their rental costs.

Did you know Ottawa’s Housing First Program provides housing loss prevention through case management services targeted at maintaining housing? At any given time, more than 860 single individuals and 225 family units are being supported at various stages in their housing journey, from homelessness to stable housing.

Ottawa’s housing system is a framework; a system of assets, services and programs delivered in collaboration with hundreds of community partners and adapted to each individual households needs and circumstances.

The City relies on our partners to support the delivery of critical services to residents including:

• Homelessness Prevention: diversion, general housing assistance, financial assistance, case conferences

• Unsheltered Services: outreach services, encampment response, day programs

• Emergency Shelters and Transitional Housing: single adults, youth, families

• Housing with Supports: supportive housing, Housing First services, Residential Services Homes, and rooming houses

• Community Housing: social housing, rent supplements and housing allowances

• Affordable Housing: new unit development and Community Improvement Plan (CIP)

The City also works with the Housing and Homelessness Leadership Table (HHLT), an 18-member group of sector leaders, to strengthen the housing and homelessness system.

Did you know that the City provides funding to help people like Angela Success secure housing? Angela arrived in Canada from Nigeria in 2018 with little more than a suitcase and her laptop, and was welcomed into a supportive, family-home environment by Matthew House: a non-profit organization in Ottawa dedicated to providing shelter, essential services and a supportive start to refugees.

The City supports the not-for-profit, co-op and private sectors in the development of affordable and supportive housing. This support advances the objectives of the 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan.

The City’s roles include:

• Managing and allocating funds from Federal, Provincial and Municipal affordable housing programs, to deliver housing affordability for low- and moderate- income households
• Working with housing providers throughout the development of affordable and supportive housing to respond to inquiries and problem-solve
• Creating programs and updating policies related to affordable housing
• Liaising and advocating with other levels of government, community agencies and developers to leverage planning and funding opportunities to deliver more affordable housing
• Building community capacity through partnerships to transfer and share knowledge, skills, and expertise

Did you know that the City has hundreds of new affordable and supportive units under construction?