Toolkits and Other Resources

• Renters’ Toolkits:
  • Eviction Prevention Handbook: Here’s what you need to know if your landlord is trying to evict you (City of Toronto, 2021) – a 20-page handbook with resources for tenants.
  • Calgary Drop-In Tenant Resources (online) – list of responsibilities, tips sheets, and links to lots of resources
  • Hamilton Tenant Toolkit (Housing Help Centre, 2022) – 2-pager with tips and resources for a housing search
  • Hamilton Guide to Finding Housing (HIPC and City of Hamilton, 2022) – a 48 page booklet that walks through all the steps of finding housing 
  • Waterloo Region Renters’ Toolkit (online) – information, templates, checklists for a self-directed housing search. Includes resources under the following headings: preparing for your housing search, searching for housing, securing housing and making it a home, staying housed, and deciding to move. See also Durham Region Renter’s Toolkit (on-line) an adapted version of the Waterloo Region Renter’s Toolkit that includes Durham Region specific resources
• RentSmart – beginning in 2011, what became the RentSmart Education and Support Society located in Victoria, BC began offering courses to empower tenants to understand their rights and responsibilities, communicate effectively with landlords, neighbours and roommates, budget to maintain their housing, and look after their home. They also offered train the trainer courses across Canada and Ready to Rent Ontario was formed to roll out the program in Ontario (report 2021). However, the RentSmart Education and Support Society ceased operating due to financial constraints in 2023. A number of communities in Canada may continue to offer RentSmart type programming in their local community. 
• Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (formerly the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation or CERA) – an Ontario based organization that has many resources for tenants, service providers, housing providers and the general public. Samples below:
  • Ontario Housing Law Basics (2023, webpages with drop-downs – aimed at tenants) – Learn the basics of Ontario housing law, tenants’ rights and landlord responsibilities and how to start, maintain, and end a tenancy
  • The Tenant Leaders Toolbox (2023) – a range of practical resources to support leadership and advocacy work, with tools to increase understanding of the right to housing in Canada. 
  • Youth Housing Rights: A Toolkit for Creative Legal Education (2017) – a 17 page booklet to equip youth and facilitators to develop strategies for human rights advocacy in housing within communities across Ontario, and to host workshops with youth to learn about housing rights and discuss their communities’ housing experiences.
• Federation of Metro Tenants Associations – example of a tenant organizing body with resources, a hotline and tenant school
• Sample Service Guides:
  • Sudbury Street Wise Guide (2019)
  • Waterloo Region Pocket Card (2022)
  • Winnipeg Resource Guide (spring/summer 2023) (or see their Services and Supports website page)
• See also tools and resources on the Prevention page.

Home Takeovers

• Housing Units Takeover (HUT) Video (Dream Team, 2021, 1 min)
• Toronto Housing Unit Takeover Task Force – Safe at Home Report (Dream Team, 2018) – findings, themes and recommendations with strong lived experience engagement.
• Housing Units Takeover Blog introducing the Safe at Home research, the issue and Ottawa resources (Eric Weissman, 2016)
• Ottawa Home Takeover Resources (Crime Prevention Ottawa) – videos, guidebook, posters (in multiple languages), research etc. See all 9 resource videos including an introduction, 7 difference scenarios, and a staff prevention video. See CAEH17 Home Take Over Conference Presentation
• Peterborough-Kawartha Local Work on HUTs Overview (December 2021)

flexible funding

• Centralized Diversion Fund: Using Flexible Funds to Prevent and End Youth and Young Adult Homelessness in Washington State (A Way Home Washington, 2021)
• Flexible Funding – Frequently Asked Questions (NASH, 2019)
• Waterloo STEP Home Flex Fund Report (2011)
• Waterloo Flex Funds Protocol (2019)

Toolkits and Other Resources

• The Landlord Engagement Toolkit: A Guide to Working with Landlords in Housing First Programs – (2018) – a Canadian resource with examples and tools from across Canada and links to other resources and toolkits.
• Greater Sudbury Landlord Toolkit (2019) – 16 page booklet for landlords and service providers
• Metro Vancouver Housing Placement Toolkit (2017)
• Private Renting Toolkit – Crisis UK (2017) – lots of tools and resources – some links not working
• Core Components of Centralized Landlord Engagement Programs and Community Landlord Engagement Initiatives – USICH (2016) blog with links to resources and examples to help communities recruit and retain new landlords to efforts to end homelessness
• Rapid Re-Housing Toolkit – NAEH (2016) – tonnes of housing identification tools and examples
• One-Pager List of Ideas: Landlord Engagement Ideas and Resources – USICH (2018) and Landlord Outreach Strategies – NAEH (2015)
• Landlord Engagement and Recruitment Deskbook – HUD (2015) – tips and sample documents
• Housing Identification Webinar – NAEH (2014)
• Landlords Like That – 5 min video – From At Home/Chez Soi – Jim meets with two different landlords who have two different reasons for taking a chance on housing At Home tenants
• Toronto Rapid Housing Project – Landlord Letter and Project Q&A
• HOM Inc (Phoenix, AZ) example tools:
  • Landlord Brochure
  • Landlord Door Hangers
  • Blog Posts and Newsletters for Landlords
  • Website Forms and Documents
  • Padmission Housing Search Platform – HOM and their landlords list available units for our participants and case managers to search

webinars

• HUD Landlord Engagement Webinar Series (2022) (includes recording, slides and transcript):
  • Landlord Incentives – understand a range of incentives, what would work for your program, and getting started
  • System-Level Approaches to Landlord Engagement – reasons for establishing a coordinated system-wide approach, key components of system strategies, and how to get started
  • Marketing, Outreach and Retention – landlord marketing and campaign strategies and community examples
  • Supporting Households Through the Housing Search Process – understand how to assess and respond to housing preferences and barriers, how to prepare a household, and leverage existing resources for a housing search
• Landlord Engagement Best Practices – Recording and PDF – (May 2021)
• Housing Liaison Worker CoP Call Recording and PDF (May 2021)
• Housing Identification Webinar – NAEH (2014)

Community Program Examples

• End Homelessness St. John’s Home Connect Program see their one hour Webinar on Facebook that explains the program in more detail

Landlord Mitigation and Repair Fund Programs

• Damage Protocol – Windsor-Essex – three page process document
• Landlord Risk Mitigation Fund Program – North Dakota – program overview and forms
• Landlord Incentive Fund – Denver – one page program description
• Risk Mitigation Fund Portfolios – USICH (2016) – overview of programs in Orlando, Portland, Seattle and Denver

Head Leasing

• Master Leasing Blog (NAEH, 2022)
• London Homeless Prevention Standard Form Occupancy Agreement for Head Lease Units – March 31, 2020 
• CMHA Kelowna uses head leases – Housing First Scattered Site Program
• The Alex in Calgary uses head leases – pathwaystohousing@thealex.ca
• Vincent Care – example from Australia
• Head Leasing Policy (2019) – Australia
• Info On Head Leases – ONPHA (2015)
• Holding On: Supporting Successful Tenancies for the Hard to House, p. 64 (Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg, 2014)

• Landlord’s Self Help Centre – is a non-profit specialty community legal clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario and mandated to provide support to Ontario’s small landlord community exclusively. This site offers information, resources and learning tools addressing topics related to residential tenancies and rental relationships in Ontario to support the needs of small-scale landlords.
• Best Practices Toolkit for Housing Providers (Waterloo Region, 2022) – This toolkit includes information, tools, and tips to help housing providers with eviction prevention efforts. It can also be used to help develop new policies and improve existing practices. This toolkit can help housing providers maintain their business and develop a caring, professional relationship with tenants.
• Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation – Landlords Responsibilities and Obligations (CERA – Ontario) – includes information on choosing tenants without violating human rights, landlord responsibilities, landlord responsibilities to tenants with disabilities and what undue hardship means.
  • Disabilities and Rental Housing – includes definitions, guides, videos, webinars and sample letters
  • Tips on writing a fair rental housing ad by the Human Rights Commission
• Guide to Ontario’s Standard Lease (Province of Ontario) – required for use starting April 30, 2018
• Calgary Drop-In Landlord Resources – a webpage that includes a list of landlord responsibilities (including Minimum Housing and Health Standards) as well as resources
• Fostering Successful Tenancies: A Comprehensive Guide for Social, Affordable and Supportive Housing Providers (Windsor-Essex, 2019) – a 60 page guide with chapters on responding to challenging behavior, hoarding, addictions, best practices in housing, and supporting employee stress.  
• Hamilton Landlord Resource Toolkit (2015) – information for landlords