Some TCHC tenants were overcharged for rent

Toronto, The Toronto Community Housing Corporation says it will conduct a review of its tenants rent after it was discovered that a small number of people were being over or undercharged.
In a press release issued Monday morning, the TCHC said that it has discovered that “errors in the calculation process” resulted in 28 tenants that pay rent-geared-to-income being undercharged and a further 21 tenants being overcharged.
The median overcharge was $22 per month while the median undercharge was $87 a month.
According to the TCHC, all tenants that were overcharged will be reimbursed while all tenants that were undercharged will have their rent adjusted but won’t have to pay the agency back.
Rent-geared-to-income rents are usually set at 30 per cent of a household’s gross income.
“While the board recognizes that the review involved a small sample and limited number of unintentional errors, Toronto Community Housing must strive to meet a standard of zero errors in order to maintain the trust of residents and the public,” board chair Bud Purves said in a press release. “That’s why the board supports management’s plan to improve the company’s processes for calculating rent. While even one tenant being overcharged is one too many, it is also important that all tenants know they are paying the correct rent and we are putting in place a system to help ensure that.”
In addition to reviewing the rent of all tenants who are part of the rent-geared-to-income program, the TCHC said it will provide staff with additional training and consider automating all or part of the rent calculation process. The housing agency also said that it would include rent reviews as part of its annual internal audit going forward.