Benefits, programs, and services planner

Suggest municipal, provincial, and federal programs for a person experiencing housing precarity. Nothing is stored. Print or Save as PDF before you close the tab. Confirm every program on the official page. This is a field checklist, not an eligibility decision.

Housing First. Benefits stack around housing. Do not make a person "program ready" before they get a door. File what they consent to file. A missed benefit is a system gap, not a personal failure.

Apply in this order (print pack)

Safety tonight if needed (911 / VAW / bed-tonight.php).
SIN or SIN application.
File missing taxes so CCB, GST credit, OTB, CDCP, CDB, RDSP bonds can move.
OW or ODSP intake.
RGI wait list the same week. SPP if fleeing abuse or trafficking.
Ask about COHB. Keep the wait-list file open.
CDCP in My Service Canada Account.
T2201 if disability is in the story. Then CDB. Then RDSP. Then RESP / Learning Bond for children.
EI or CPP-D only if the work history is there.
OAS / GIS in the year the person turns 65.

Suggestions will appear here

Enter a municipality and flags, then generate. Provincial and federal lists still print if the city is blank.

Compare housing money

RGI / subsidized unit vs COHB

RGI is tied to a unit on the centralized wait list. Rent is usually about 30% of AFNI (or the social-assistance rent scale). The household must take an offer in that Service Manager area.

COHB is a portable monthly benefit. The household finds a private-market unit. The benefit can move with them across Ontario Service Manager areas. Intake is usually by invitation from the Service Manager, with priority for survivors, homelessness, Indigenous households, seniors, and disability.

Risk. COHB can end; RGI can be lost on an occupancy-standard or review issue. Neither replaces the duty to accommodate under the Code. Apply for the wait list even if COHB is offered.

Subsidized vs supportive vs market

Subsidized / social housing: rent assistance in a community-housing or rent-supplement unit. Supports are optional.

Supportive housing: housing plus on-site or visiting supports (mental health, ABI, developmental services). Housing First still applies: supports are chosen, not a condition of keeping the keys unless the program is a licensed care home.

Market rent: private landlord. Use COHB, rent bank, OW/ODSP shelter amount, and Code accommodation. Market is not "more independent" and subsidized is not "less ready."

DTC then CDB then RDSP

Form T2201 unlocks the Disability Tax Credit. The Canada Disability Benefit generally needs DTC. An RDSP needs DTC, a SIN, Canadian residency, and opening before age 60. Grants and bonds can be paid to age 49. File taxes so income-tested bonds flow.

RESP + Canada Learning Bond

A Registered Education Savings Plan can sit with $0 personal deposit. The Canada Learning Bond can still go in for a child from a modest-income family. CESG matches later contributions. This is not a reason to delay housing. Open it when the household has a SIN for the child and a consenting promoter.

Full catalogue (always available to print)

Federal income and tax

File every missing tax year (CRA / community tax clinic)
Canada Child Benefit; Child Disability Benefit if a child has DTC
GST/HST credit; Ontario Trillium Benefit (energy + property + sales)
Canada Workers Benefit
Canada Carbon Rebate / climate-related credits as published
Disability Tax Credit (T2201) and refunds for prior years if eligible
Canada Disability Benefit
RDSP + Canada Disability Savings Grant and Bond
RESP + Canada Education Savings Grant + Canada Learning Bond
First Home Savings Account; Home Buyers' Plan; home buyers' amount
GST/HST new housing rebate; Ontario new housing rebate / ENHR if buying new
Northern residents deductions if living in a prescribed zone
Medical expense tax credit; caregiver amounts; disability supports deduction

Federal income replacement

Employment Insurance regular, sickness, maternity, parental, caregiving
CPP retirement, CPP Disability, CPP survivor, CPP children's benefit
Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Allowance, Allowance for the Survivor
Veterans Affairs disability pension / Pain and Suffering Compensation
Veterans Emergency Fund; VAC case management

Federal health, dental, disability

Canadian Dental Care Plan
Non-Insured Health Benefits (status First Nations and recognized Inuit)
Interim Federal Health (protected persons / some refugee claimants)
Jordan's Principle; Inuit Child First Initiative
Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities; Canada Student Loan

Ontario income and health

Ontario Works; ODSP income and employment supports
ODSP mandatory special necessities, special diet, medical travel
Assistance for Children with Severe Disabilities
Transition Child Benefit remnants / child-related OW top-ups as published
Trillium Drug Program; Exceptional Access Program; OHIP+
Assistive Devices Program; Home and Vehicle Modification Program
Passport / Developmental Services Ontario; adult protective services
Independent Living / attendant services; ABI and mental-health case management
Healthy Smiles Ontario; Healthy Babies Healthy Children
OSAP grants and loans; Better Jobs Ontario / Second Career successor
Ontario Electricity Support Program; LEAP; Enbridge/Winter Warmth funds
GAINS (Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System) for some seniors
Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit

Ontario housing and justice

RGI / centralized wait list; Special Priority Policy
COHB; OPHI housing allowance; rent supplement
Supportive and transitional housing; Housing First
Emergency shelter and municipal homelessness intake
Victim Quick Response Program+
Legal Aid Ontario; Human Rights Legal Support Centre
Rental Housing Enforcement Unit

Municipal (ask every city)

Recreation fee assistance (Ottawa Hand in Hand; Toronto Welcome Policy)
Transit subsidy or affordable-fare pass
Rent bank / housing stabilization / last month's rent fund
Property-tax deferral or low-income rebate if they own
Student nutrition / breakfast club through the school board
Public-health dental, harm reduction, and TB/vaccine clinics
Library card, fine waiver, and free holds
Waste/water levy exemption if billed separately