Durham first to launch online social housing system

Durham Region has rolled out the country’s first-ever online system to fill social housing vacancies. It’s for people on the rent-geared-to-income wait list and Spokesperson Diana Chappell says it gives applicants more control over when and where they want to move, because they can apply for multiple properties whenever they’re ready.

“The vacancy is posted for a week,” said Chappell. “And during that time, people can log in, look at the vacancy, decide if they’re interested in it and they express interest in it by pressing a button that says ‘Express Interest’. At the end of the week, the person with the highest priority and the earliest application date will get a call.”

Chappell says the new system will also help people understand how few vacancies they have and give them a better idea of how long they may be waiting.

“When we’ve filled the unit, we’ll post the application date of the successful applicant,” said Chappell. “That will give other people the opportunity to see what year people are getting housed from. It gives them some feedback on how far down the wait list they may be.”

Chappell says the new system gives the user more control over where and when they move, adding many seniors put themselves on the wait list well before they need the housing.

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