The County of Huron is taking proactive measures to address the issue of affordable housing in Huron County by developing additional affordable housing units. ​ The latest development, a 20-unit apartment building on Sanders Street in Exeter, is set to be completed and ready for occupancy in late 2024. ​

Applications are available here, by calling the Huron County Housing Services at 519.482.8505, ext. 4252, or at the Social Services office, located in the Jacob Memorial Building, 77722D London Road, Clinton.

Completed applications must be submitted to the Huron County Housing Services.

Non-profit and Co-operative housing units which provide rent-geared-to-income and market rent housing for families, singles or seniors are available from:

• Belmore Non-Profit Housing Corporation (Wroxeter)
• Huron Sands Non-Profit Homes Incorporated (Goderich)
• Vanastra Lions Club Apartments Incorporated (Clinton)
• Exandarea Meadows Housing Co-operative (Exeter)
• Second Stage Housing for Victims of Domestic Violence (Clinton, Goderich, Exeter)

Women’s Shelter, Second Stage Housing and Counselling Services of Huron provides housing for women and children who are victims of family violence. Second Stage housing provides rent-geared-to-income apartments in a secure building for women, with or without children, for up to one year. Units include fridge and stove, 1, 2, or 3 bedrooms, and on-site laundry facilities are available.

Women who have identified themselves as survivors of abuse whether physical, emotional, sexual or verbal are eligible to apply. Applicants must be either self-referred, residents of a shelter for abused women, or referred by a professional in the community.

Applications are available at Second Stage Housing in Clinton, Exeter and Goderich, plus the Women’s Shelter of Huron located at 376 Huron Road in Goderich. An interview is required to assess the applicant’s needs and the ability to meet these needs; applications are then reviewed by the Admissions Committee. Upon acceptance to Second Stage Housing, women will be required to sign an occupancy contract.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting:

Huron Women’s Shelter

Telephone: 519.524.5333

Transition Support Worker or Children’s Community Social Worker

Telephone: 519.524.1620

There are several hundred rent-geared-to-income (RGI) apartments and houses located throughout the county. Huron County’s Housing Services provide housing to families, seniors, couples, single people and people with special needs in a variety of housing forms including townhouses, apartments as well as single and semi-detached dwellings.

Housing units vary in size from bachelor apartments to four bedroom houses. Some units are accessible for the physically disabled. Most of the housing is available on a rent-geared-to-income basis, however some projects offer market rent units.

The County of Huron owns and manages 415 rent-geared-to-income units through the Huron County Housing Corporation and has additional units available through Rent Supplement agreements with private landlords. The remaining rent-geared-to-income units are owned and managed by various Non-Profit and Co-operative groups.

Social Housing units are located in Bayfield, Blyth, Brussels, Clinton, Exeter, Goderich, Seaforth, Wingham and Zurich.

You can apply for the following RGI rental units through the County of Huron’s Social Housing Department.

Subsidized housing, or rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance, is available for eligible households.

RGI assistance means the amount of rent you pay is determined by your income; rent amounts are based on paying approximately 30% of your gross (before taxes) monthly household income. For example, if your household members make $1500 a month combined, your basic subsidized rent might be about $500 with adjustments for utilities.

The amount of rent paid by Ontario Works/Ontario Disability Support Program recipients is determined by a scale provided by Ontario’s Ministry of Community and Social Services in accordance with the Housing Services Act, 2011.

To qualify for rent-geared-to-income assistance you must meet the following criteria:

• You or someone in your household must be 16 years old or older and capable of living independently
• Each member of the household must be a Canadian Citizen / Permanent Resident / or have made a claim for refugee protection under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) and no removal orders have become enforceable against any member of the household
• You must not owe arrears for rent or damages to any social housing provider or have been found by the Rental Housing Tribunal or a court of law to have misrepresented income in relation to the receipt of rent geared-to-income assistance
• If you own a house, you must agree to put it up for sale upon offer to lease and sell within six months

Eligibility for rent-geared-to-income assistance varies from household to household, please contact County of Huron Housing Services to see if you qualify.

To apply for rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance you must complete an application form, or by contacting County of Huron Housing Services.

Upon verification of eligibility for rent-geared-to-income assistance, your application will be added to a Centralized Waiting List of social housing providers within the county in chronological order of receipt.

Offers of housing will be made keeping in mind the household’s preference for a particular site or area when the application reaches the top of the list.

Effective January 1, 2021 Applicants are entitled to ONE (1) housing offer. If the offer is refused, the file will be cancelled. Failure to respond to a housing offer shall be considered a refusal.

Applications to live in a County-owned, rent-geared-to-income, rent supplement unit, or units owned by the following provider groups: Belmore, Huron Sands, Vanastra and Exandarea Meadows, must be made through the Huron County Housing Services office.

Verification Requirements

In order to process your application prior to lease signing, you will be required to supply copies of the following documents:

• Verification of income for all household members
• Verification of assets for all household members
  • Note: this includes a copy of all bankbook(s) and/or statement(s) for all
    household members, statements from all investments (i.e. RRSP, RIF,
    GIC, annuities, etc.), life insurance documentation verifying the cash
    surrender value of your policy, and verification of any transfer of assets
    from the past 3 years
• Income Tax Notice of Assessment (received back from Revenue Canada from previous year) for all household members. You may request a copy of your assessment from Revenue Canada by calling 1.800.959.8281
• School verification for all dependents 16 years of age and older may be requested
• Family units must provide verification that utilities, in their name, have been connected
• Copies of all support/custody agreements

Your lease agreement cannot be processed without all of the above documentation.

Where to Apply

The application has been made available below, or applications can be picked up at any of the following sites:

Huron County Housing Corporation

77722D London Road
Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0
Tel: 519.482.8505

Belmore Non-Profit Housing Corporation

Box 122, RR 1
Wroxeter, Ontario N0G 2X0
Tel: 519.392.8117

Huron Sands Non-Profit Homes Incorporated

Unit 35-80 Balvina Drive
Goderich, Ontario N7A 4L8
Tel: 519.524.5763
Fax: 519.524.5767

Vanastra Lions Club Apartments Incorporated

198-12th Street, RR 5
Clinton, Ontario N0M 1L0
Tel: 519.482.7826
Fax: 519.482.7856

Exandarea Meadows Housing Co-operative

1-51 Church Street
Exeter, Ontario N0M 1S2
Tel: 519.235.3382

Application for Rent-Geared-to-Income Housing

* All completed applications must be submitted to the Huron County Housing Corporation.

When your application is received, it will be reviewed to be sure that all required information is included. You will be notified in writing within seven business days as to whether you are eligible for geared-to-income assistance, or if additional information is needed for your application. If you are eligible, you will be told you are placed on the waiting lists for the locations you selected, and the number of bedrooms your household qualifies for.s.

It is important that you keep your application up to date in order to stay on the centralized waiting list and maintain your eligibility status. You must report any changes to the information you previously submitted within 15 business days of the change taking place or your application can be cancelled and your name removed from the waiting list.

You can refuse to move into housing offered by Housing Services however, if one reasonable offers is refused, the household will be removed from the waiting list.

If you own, or have a legal interest in a residential property that can be lived in year-round, you will be required to sell your interest in the property within six months after you have moved into geared-to-income assisted housing.