Find Affordable Housing

Victims of domestic violence can receive special priority for affordable housing. You may qualify if:

• You or someone you live with has been abused;
• The abusing individual is or was living with the victim or is sponsoring the victim as an immigrant or has in the last three months; and
• The victim intends to permanently separate from the abusing individual.

To apply for special priority, please fill out the affordable housing application, Request for Special Priority for Victims of Domestic Violence, and the building selection form.

Victims of human trafficking

Victims of human trafficking can receive special priority for affordable housing. You may qualify if:

• You or someone you live with is experiencing human trafficking; or
• You or someone you live with experienced human trafficking in the past but less than three months has passed since it stopped.

To apply for special priority, please fill out the affordable housing application, Request for Special Priority for Victims of Human Trafficking, and the building selection form.

The number of bedrooms you qualify for depends on the number of people living with you. If are in affordable housing now and a person you live with moves out, you may need to move to a smaller unit. If you would like to stay in the same building, and your building has a unit you qualify for, you can go on a waiting list for a transfer.

If your building does not have the right unit size, you would work with us and your housing provider to find another building.

To apply for over-housed status, please fill out and submit the affordable housing application and the building selection form.

You will be placed on the waiting list for units you qualify for, and will need to choose at least ten possible sites.

If you have lived in the Region of Waterloo for the last 12 consecutive months and have a low income, you may qualify for one of the three local waiting list status categories below.

1. Homeless - If your household is currently unsheltered for one of the following reasons, you may  qualify for this status:

• are living on the street (no shelter), OR
• are using the emergency shelter system as your primary residence; OR
• have a home that has recently been destroyed by fire or natural disaster (within the last 3 months); OR
• are waiting to get out of hospital, or another treatment facility, cannot return to your previous residence, and will not be released until you find suitable housing.

To apply, complete the Request for Homeless Status and Housing Search forms and submit them with your affordable housing application.

As in many communities, the demand for affordable housing is high in Waterloo Region.  How long you wait can depend on how many properties you choose on your application and their popularity. If you have been granted priority status, you will be housed sooner than applicants who do not have this status.

• Your address
• Your phone number
• The number of people living with you
• Your income
• Your housing preferences

As soon as a unit opens up, you and/or your alternate will be contacted. It is important that you keep all of your information up to date.

If you don't respond within 24-48 hours (varies depending on the building you are offered), your file may be placed on hold until we can confirm your contact information. Even if you aren't interested in the unit that becomes available for you, please let us know so you don't miss out on other offers.

You should let our office know of any changes on your file within 30 days of the change, or your file could be cancelled. Changes you need to let us know about include:

• Your address
• Phone number
• Alternate contacts (in case we can't reach you)
• Number of people in your family
• Your landlord's name and phone number
• Your status in Canada
• Your household income

To update your information, please fill out and submit the Applicant Information Change form, call the Service First Call Centre at 519-575-4400 or visit a Community Housing Access Centre.

If your name is on an application for community housing and you would like it to be removed from the application, please fill out and submit the Applicant Removal Request Form by email, fax, mail, or drop off. You will receive confirmation from us that your name has been removed.

Please note that when you remove your name from an application with more than one name on it, the application will remain active. 

Currently, applicants on the wait list could receive up to three offers of housing. However, starting July 1st, 2020, when you receive a housing offer, you will be given the first unit that comes available from the list of units you chose when you applied. You can no longer turn down the first two offers of housing. This change will help people move into housing more quickly. 

Please make sure the properties you have chosen are where you would like to live. To add or remove properties from your application, please complete the building selection form. 

Refusing an offer will result in a loss of subsidy for people already living in subsidized housing. If you are an applicant, you would lose your place on the wait list.  

If you disagree with a decision about your application, we do recommend that you try to work with the person who made the decision. If you are unable to, you can request a review by completing and sending us the Request for Review form that was mailed to you with your decision letter. If you do not have this form, please call the Community Housing Access Centre at 519-575-4400. Please note that only certain types of decisions are reviewable.

Some of the Community Housing sites listed on the application may be designated as smoke free sites. If you accept an offer of one of these units, you will not be able to smoke in your unit or anywhere in the building, if it is an apartment. This does not mean that there are no smokers in the building or that the unit you will be offered was never occupied by someone who was a smoker. It just means that all new tenants will have a smoke free lease.

Sites could become smoke free at any time. It is important that you let us know your preference because if we are not aware and you turn down a unit that is smoke free, the offer will be counted as one of your three offers for affordable housing.

Is my information private?

The Region of Waterloo collects personal information in the Community Housing Application and supporting documents under the Housing Services Act, 2011. The Region uses this information to determine a person's eligibility for housing, continuation of housing, and the appropriate rent-geared-to-income charge. With consent, the Region may exchange personal information in this application with Access Sites and housing providers to arrange a placement or housing assistance. Personal information may also be exchanged between the Region and other institutions where required or allowed by law.

Please contact the Community Housing Access Centre if you have any questions about the collection and use of personal information.