Rent Supplement Program for Landlords

A rent supplement is a housing subsidy provided by the City of Hamilton to bridge the gap between the full market rent for a rental unit and the amount of rent a household can pay based on its income.

How the Rent Supplement program works

To participate in the program, a private landlord enters into an agreement with the City of Hamilton for a specific number of rental units in their building.

The landlord receives the full market rent by:

• Collecting an affordable rent from the tenant.  Affordable rent is based on 30% of the tenant’s households total gross income. If the tenant household receives government assistance such as Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Pension, the amount of rent is determined by the Province.
• Receiving the difference from the City.

Tenant households are chosen from the City’s centralized social housing waiting list.  The tenant household signs a lease with the landlord.

City of Hamilton’s role

The City of Hamilton is responsible for:

• Tenant selection
• Administration such as subsidy management and unit inspections
• Working with landlords to determine the level of market rents
• Accumulation of landlord statements for payment and/or reconciliation to landlords
• Actively seeking new landlords to participate, by consulting with prospective landlords and assessing potential properties
• Initiating partnerships with locally-based social service agencies in order to provide supportive housing to tenants in need
• Managing 365 units

The Government of Ontario has committed funding to the Rent Supplement program until March 31, 2023.