On March 17, 2020, Ombudsman Toronto, led by Ombudsman Susan E. Opler, released a report titled “Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) Complaint Trend Data and Related Recommendations”. The Toronto Community Housing Corporation, or TCHC, is a social housing agency that owns and manages subsidized housing properties in Toronto.

The report and response has particularly strong implications for lower-income families residing in TCHC communities such as Regent Park.

Regent Park is one of the oldest and largest public housing developments in Canada. Many of its residents are underemployed new immigrants struggling to find adequate, meaningful work. Though it’s recently transitioned to a mixed-use, mixed-income neighbourhood, a large percentage of people still live in subsidized housing managed by TCHC.  In addition to adding rental and market housing, replacing all the TCHC subsidize units with new housing is an important part of the revitalization and the first step towards building a stronger cohesive community in Regent Park. Unfortunately, not all of TCHC properties have the privilege of undergoing a revitalization.
 
TCHC is Canada’s largest landlord and it manages just under 60,000 units, 50 million square feet of residential space, and 2100 buildings - most of which are over 50 years old.  Given the sheer size of this portfolio and chronic under funding, it is not surprising that many of TCHC buildings are unsafe and in desperate need of renovation and proper maintenance. The question is, can resident concerns for safety and their needs for renovation and maintenance be managed better?

The Ombudsman surely believes so. When residents have a complaint, they can report it to TCHC management and address the issue internally. Unfortunately, according to Ombudsman Toronto, the process is caught up in bureaucratic red tape and is not well-publicized; many people don’t know that the internal complaint process even exists. This prompts residents to take the complaints directly to the Ombudsman.

The most contentious issue is Maintenance, making up over a third of all cases reported to the Ombudsman. Sufficient lighting, heating, and water are all basic human needs, but according to the Ombudsman, TCHC often fails to address these problems and enforce administrative fairness. Administrative fairness refers to the set of expectations outlined by Ombudsman Toronto when addressing complaints. It includes fair process (access to relevant policies and procedures and reasonably quick service), fair outcome (apply rules consistently and make decisions without bias), and fair treatment (being treated with respect and having clear and accessible communication). Poor communication makes up over half of administrative fairness complaints.

Two major conclusions were drawn from the Ombudsman’s report. First, complaints sent to Ombudsman Toronto were mostly premature--that is, tenants hadn’t exhausted the TCHC internal complaint system before directing their issues to Ombudsman Toronto. Second, TCHC often refuses to communicate or poorly communicates with tenants about their issues. It’s evident that TCHC’s lack of clear and timely communication left residents frustrated, making them turn towards Ombudsman Toronto as a last resort.

To combat these problems, the Ombudsman made two recommendations. The TCHC management board should take steps to publicize its internal complaint system to tenants, staff, and members of the public. In addition, all employees should receive training on how to properly communicate with residents in a “transparent, fair, and timely way”. The board was given until the end of the year to implement these changes. TCHC CEO Kevin Marshman responded to the report, promising to publicize the complaint process with an improved website and posters about in all buildings.

In response to Marshman’s plan, Ombudsperson Opler said: “It’s too early to know how effectively TCHC will follow through on our recommendations, and whether their efforts will result in fewer complaints to Ombudsman Toronto and better service to tenants. Time will tell and we will be watching.”

By Chloё Nguyen-Drury
(Chloe is a youth journalist with the FOCUS Media Arts Centre)