February 28, 2022

Call for Applicants: On-Reserve First Nation Owned Rental Unit

Purpose:

Call for Applicants is to fill a vacant 3-bedroom, 1-bath modular unit, and to collect updated family-composition and members’ housing needs.

Information requested in the Application for Housing is based on the Fort William First Nation’s (FWFNs) Housing Policy (2020). FWFN reserves the right to prioritize and direct available housing to individuals or families deemed to have a core housing need.

Eligibility requirements:

  1. Applicant must be 18+ years of age, and a registered member of FWFN.
  2. Applicants must submit OFFICIAL documentation (including coapplicants and occupants):
    1. First Nation Registration;
    2. Child Welfare (custody);
    3. Income;
    4. Accessibility Needs;
    5. Landlord Reference
    6. Reference/Confirmation from Synergy North or Enbridge;
  3. Applicants will be required to sign a disclosure authorizing FWFN to verify all of the above;
  4. Applicants may be disqualified due to incomplete applications.

Tenant Selection Criteria:

Priority will be given to tenants with core housing needs, include:

  1. Unable to afford shelter costs (include rent/mortgage payments and utilities) in current arrangement:
    1. A maximum of 30% or less of household income should be allocated toward shelter costs.
  2. Living in inadequate housing conditions with risk of health and safety, including:
    1. Deficient critical components of the home, temporary housing situation, individuals/families with special needs or disabilities and meet one (1) or more of the above criteria.

National Occupancy Standards:

  1. No more than 2, or less than 1 occupant/bedroom;
    1. Couples/spouses share a bedroom;
    2. Parents do not share a bedroom with dependents;
    3. Dependents aged 18+ do not share a bedroom;
    4. Dependents aged 5+ of opposite sex do not share a bedroom;
  2. Pertaining to shared custody, a child must reside with a legal caretaker 40% of the time to qualify as a permanent household member;
  3. Single people can apply for bachelor or one-bedroom units; and
  4. Couples can apply for 1-2 bedroom if expecting.

Who is not eligible?

  1. Applicants who are homeowners;
  2. Applicants with rental arrears or outstanding accounts with FWFN;
  3. Applicants cited for rental agreement violations in the last 5-years.

Deadline to Apply: Tuesday, March 15th at 11:59pm.

Where to access Applications for Housing?

Please find an Application for Housing as follows: On the Fort William First Nation’s official website (www.fwfn.com), the Weekly Newsletter or at the address below.

Assistance Completing Applications/Where to send completed application?

In-person, email, Canada Post, or by fax:

C/O: Jenna MacLaurin, Housing Coordinator
100 Little Lake Road, Suite 200 | Fort William First Nation, ON | P7J 0L2
C: 807.630.3963 | Fax: 807.623.5190
JennaMacLaurin@fwfn.com

How will you be notified regarding your Application for Housing?

Pertaining to rental unit vacancy, due to the potential for a high volume of applications, the Housing Department reserve the right to only contact the successful applicant, or to only contact potentially successful applicant(s); meeting core housing needs.

After confirming completeness and eligibility of applicant(s), application(s) will be reviewed by the Housing Department and/or Housing Committee for decision-making. The successful applicant will be notified via phone and written communication.

What Happens Next?

All applications received in this Call for Applicants will be reviewed and entered into a Community Needs Assessment/Housing Database, which will assist FWFN in determining family-composition and community housing needs that will assist in future housing development decision-making.

As time permits, the Housing Department will contact applicants to discuss alternative housing solutions, which may include (pending income and credit rating), privately owned rentals, existing home purchasing and home building on-reserve.

We look forward to hearing from you, and appreciate your understanding.

Respectfully,

Jenna MacLaurin: Housing Coordinator

 

Housing Application