- What is a Rent Bank?
- Who is operating the Provincial Rent Bank program?
- Are all the rent banks operated by the Municipal Service Manager?
- Where is the rent bank in my Municipal Service Manager area?
- Who is eligible for rent bank assistance?
- I live in a social housing apartment. Can I use the rent bank to pay my arrears?
- Can a person on social assistance receive help?
- Are there any other eligibility requirements?
- How much money is available through the Provincial Rent Bank?
- How does one apply for help?
- How much money can I get from the rent bank?
- Is support provided as a loan or a grant? And if it is a loan, will interest be charged?
- How often can I borrow from the rent bank?
- Can I borrow from the rent bank for first and last month's rent?
- I'm having difficulty paying my electricity bills. Can I borrow from the rent bank to pay arrears on utilities?
- My landlord has already started the eviction process. How long will it take for my application to be approved for rent bank funding?
1. What is a Rent Bank?
A rent bank is a short-term funding mechanism through which low-income tenants may apply to receive financial assistance to address short-term rent arrears.
Affordable and secure housing is fundamental to the well-being, vitality, and strength of families and the communities they live in. The Provincial Rent Bank Program helps ensure housing stability for those who, due to an emergency or other unforeseen circumstance, are in short-term arrears and facing eviction. If a tenant's application to a rent bank is approved, the outstanding rent is paid directly to the landlord on behalf of the tenant.
2. Who is operating the Provincial Rent Bank Program?
The Province has provided Ontario’s 47 Municipal Service Managers with the funds to run the program on its behalf. A Municipal Service Manager is a municipal entity that administers social programs.
3. Are all the rent banks operated by the Municipal Service Manager?
Some Municipal Service Managers administer the program themselves and other Municipal Service Managers provide the money to community organizations to administer the Provincial Rent Bank on their behalf.
4. Where is the rent bank in my Municipal Service Manager area?
You will have to contact your local Municipal Service Manager 
for information on rent banks currently in operation.
5. Who is eligible for rent bank assistance?
It is up to each Municipal Service Manager to determine client eligibility and approve applications for assistance.
6. I live in a social housing apartment. Can I use the rent bank to pay my arrears?
It is up to each Municipal Service Manager to decide whether social housing tenants are eligible to receive rent bank funding.
7. Can a person on social assistance receive help?
It is up to each Municipal Service Manager to decide whether social assistance recipients are eligible to receive rent bank funding.
8. Are there any other eligibility requirements?
Municipal Service Managers may have set other eligibility criteria. Please contact the Municipal Service Manager in your area to find out about any additional eligibility requirements.
9. How much money is available through the Provincial Rent Bank?
Since establishing the program in 2004, the Province has provided Municipal Service Managers with a total of $18.8 million to assist eligible tenants. See Funds Allocated to Municipal Service Managers .
10. How does one apply for help?
A tenant needs to contact the Municipal Service Manager where he or she lives and inquire about how to apply to the rent bank.
11. How much money can I get from the rent bank?
According to the Provincial Rent Bank rules, a tenant may access up to two months’ rental arrears from a rent bank.
12. Is support provided as a loan or a grant? And if it is a loan, will interest be charged?
It is up to each Municipal Service Manager to decide whether assistance is provided as a loan or grant.
If it is a loan, the Municipal Service Manager decides what the terms of repayment are, including whether or not interest applies.
13. How often can I borrow from the rent bank?
A tenant can apply for assistance only once every two years, except when, at the Municipal Service Manager’s discretion and where assistance is provided as a loan, tenants pay back their loan sooner than the two-year period and the Municipal Service Manager allows them to re-apply for assistance under the program.
14. Can I borrow from the rent bank for first and last month’s rent?
Rent banks work by helping tenants who normally do not have difficulty paying their rent on time but, because of some unforeseen crisis, find themselves in short-term rent arrears. For this reason, Provincial Rent Bank funding can only be used for the payment of rent arrears and is not to be used for first and last month’s rent. There may be other sources of funds to help with first and last month’s rent such as social assistance .
15. I’m having difficulty paying my electricity bills. Can I borrow from the rent bank to pay arrears on utilities?
The Ministry of Community and Social Services (MCSS) Energy Emergency Fund provides assistance to low-income Ontarians, including social assistance recipients, facing energy-related emergencies.
The Energy Emergency Fund is for energy arrears, security deposits and reconnection costs. Assistance is paid directly to energy providers. Tenants need to contact their local Municipal Service Manager for information on how to access the Energy Emergency Fund.
16. My landlord has already started the eviction process.
How long will it take for my application to be approved for rent bank funding?The length of time it takes to process a rent bank application depends on the rent bank. The approval process needs to take place fairly quickly since the eviction process, once initiated, can take less than a month. There needs to be time for an assessment of the rent bank application to ensure an eviction application can be dismissed once the arrears are paid. Tenants should contact the Provincial Rent Bank in their Municipal Service Manager area as soon as they receive notice that their landlord has applied for an eviction order based on short-term rent arrears.