Housing, Story

January 1, 2021

The Neighbourhood Land Trust

Three people posing in front of a house

Through the investment of Catherine Donnelly The Neighbourhood Land Trust (NLT), formerly the Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust (PNLT), was able to deepen our impact by developing a replicable model for Rooming House Preservation by a non-profit Community Land Trust, supported by new tools to facilitate effective and efficient project planning. This groundwork will enable the land trust and its partners to preserve and protect this important stock of affordable housing for vulnerable tenants, many of whom are at-risk of becoming homeless.

Their model includes:

1. Acquisition & Ownership by non-profit CLT – The Community Land Trust (CLT) will act as a catalytic intervener – identifying at-risk sites of interest, undertaking acquisition planning, and securing funding and financing to acquire and renovate properties. The CLT will hold the properties as permanently affordable housing in trust for the community. To support planning we have developed an acquisition toolkit including the following form documents: Site of Interest Report Template, Site Evaluation Form, Due Diligence Checklist, Critical Path, Pro-forma, Business Plan / Planning Rational, Letter of Intent form, Agreement of Purchase and Sale form, and more.

2. Operation by non-profit Supportive Housing Provider – The CLT will provide a long-term master-lease to an eligible supportive housing operating provider who will operate the property and provider services to tenants. To support effective project planning for operating partners PARC has developed a Rooming House Takeover Manual. We have also developed a detailed Tenant Survey to facilitate both needs assessment for tenants, as well as project evaluation.

3. Funding & Financing – The CLT will access funding and financing from multiple public and private sources including:

  • Capital funding from City of Toronto Rooming House Acquisition and Modernization Pilot, Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) program, and or CMHC Co-investment fund (through a portfolio application).
  • Operating funding for rent allowances, fixed housing supplements and staffing will be accessed through Provincial programs administered by the TC LINN or SSHA including Homes For Good, Layered Housing with Supports, and the Transitional Housing Assistance Program (THAP).
  • Financing through CMHC Co-investment fund, private financial institutions, and value aligned / impact investors.

NLT will continue this work over the next three years as part of the Provincially Funded “Parkdale Rooming Stabilization, Proactive Eviction Prevention and Preservation initiative”.

For more information visit Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust Link opens a new window