How does rent-geared-to-income subsidy eligibility work for a member of a non-profit housing co-op?

Rent-geared-to-income, often called RGI, is a subsidy that ties a member's housing charge to their household income rather than to the co-op's full cost-recovery rate. Eligibility and administration for this kind of subsidy in Ontario generally sit within the province's community housing framework under the Housing Services Act, 2011, which assigns responsibility for local housing subsidy programs to the municipal Service Manager for that region, rather than leaving eligibility entirely up to the individual co-op.

In practice, this usually means a household applies through a centralized waiting list process administered by or on behalf of the local Service Manager, is assessed against income and asset limits and household size rules, and is then matched to an available subsidized unit as one comes up in a participating co-op. Once housed, ongoing eligibility is typically reviewed periodically, since a member's income and household circumstances can change over time, and the co-op adjusts the geared-to-income charge accordingly. Because not every co-op has subsidized units, and availability can involve significant waiting periods, anyone interested in an RGI subsidy in co-op housing should apply through the appropriate local Service Manager and ask the specific co-op directly about subsidized unit availability.