Blow up TCH status quo, experts say
Recommendations of task force include creation of new agency
The expert group tasked by Mayor John Tory with improving Toronto Community Housing is recommending the biggest shakeup of the country’s largest landlord since its creation.
The result of 29 recommendations from the mayor’s task force to be released Tuesday morning, and obtained by the Star, would see the creation of a new non-profit housing provider and put more emphasis on direct support for, and input from, tenants.
Responding to the current public-housing crisis that has seen a $2.6-billion repair backlog, lack of available units and turmoil at TCHC headquarters, the report called the organization “unsustainable financially, so- cially and with respect to operations and governance.”
Tory is expected to welcome the changes as a more efficient and more responsive way to meet tenant needs at a press conference Tuesday.
Taken as a package, the recommendations do not amount to any new investment from the city, which would in fact be stepping back to oversee the new housing provider from a greater distance. And the success in implementing those recommendations relies heavily on substantial reinvestment from both the federal and provincial governments — which has yet to be secured.
The task force, led by Sen. Art Eggleton, cites five major areas for improvement, such as: decentralization of management to put more staff on the front lines with
Experts tasked by Mayor John Tory with improving social housing made proposals that included increasing partnerships with external agencies and decentralization of management
tenants; increasing partnerships with external agencies to offer much-needed support for vulnerable residents; and in the long term, creating a more sustainable way to operate public housing by raising funds through the creation of more affordable and market-rent units.
The new not-for-profit — which also comes with the suggested name “NewHome” — would initially oversee the current portfolio of more than 2,200 buildings, valued at $9 billion.
By being placed at arm’s length from the city and “off the city’s books,” the task force says the new organization would become another of more than 240 nonprofits providing housing in this city.
Its new role would include a renewed look at necessary renovations, demolitions and sell-offs of buildings. The task force says the transfer of management of some buildings to other housing providers should also be considered — allowing, the report says, for better care in places such as seniors-only buildings.
And it would put “NewHome” in a better position to borrow money, unencumbered by the city’s 15-per-cent debt ceiling, the task force said, as it looks for ways to pay for repairs and redevelopment.
The task force also envisioned a new, leaner board to manage the non-profit — from 13 members to seven or nine — one that would be better compensated for their skills in “recognition of the commitment expected for the size, complexity and value of TCHC’s business.” Expertise on the board could also include members with lived experience in public housing, the report said.
The task force suggested keeping TCHC as a separate company that would deal exclusively with the development of new housing. It would look at opportunities to increase density and build mixed-income communities like those currently underway in Regent Park, Alexandra Park and Lawrence Heights.
Breaking up the company would also close the gap between managers and tenants, the task force said, allowing decision-making to be better made on the ground.
The report also contains recommendations aimed at addressing the disproportionate number of vulnerable tenants — including seniors and those living with serious mental ill- ness — currently concentrated in TCHC communities.
It calls for an increased focus on creating community hubs for “high needs” buildings run by outside agencies — which have been successfully piloted in recent years. The task force said the city should look to provincially funded local health integration networks and other agencies for funding.
Perhaps the biggest challenge the task force looked at is better integrating communities by maintaining the number of subsidized rental units while increasing revenues by adding market-rate and affordable housing — moving from a 90 per cent, 10 per cent split to a 70 per cent, 30 per cent split.
The report follows earlier interim recommendations that looked at improving daily tenant life through steps like increased security-camera coverage.
After identifying those priorities, the TCHC board came up short on cash and turned to the city to fund an additional $14 million in the 2016 budget to implement them. Ahead of the announcement, Councillor Ana Bailao, who chairs the city’s affordable housing committee and sits on TCHC’s board, said she believes the “stars are aligning” for reinvestment in public housing.
Logistically, there are still several
Councillor Ana Bailao says she believes “stars are aligning” for reinvestment in public housing
major hurdles created by the recommendations, including needed changes to provincial legislation and a change in how housing allowances are provided.
The city is expected to move quickly after the report is tabled at executive committee this Thursday, with an interim plan from the city in place by March or April.