Canadian Social Housing + Yardi
Yardi Voyager for Canadian Social Housing
Coast to Coast
Assetsoft configures Yardi Voyager for Canadian social housing providers nationwide, Ontario non-profits under the Housing Services Act 2011, BC Housing-funded providers, Alberta Social Housing Corporation, Société d'habitation du Québec, Indigenous housing providers, and co-operatives. CMHC reporting, Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) configuration, and end-of-operating-agreement transitions built into Yardi by consultants who know both the platform and the policy.
Yardi ICN Member l Virtuoso Qualified l Canadian Housing Expertise
600+
Canadian Households Supported
13
Provincial & Territorial Frameworks
$82B
National Housing Strategy Investment
1946–1993
Federally Funded Social Housing Built
At a glance
What is Canadian social housing and how does Yardi fit?
Canadian social housing is federally-funded subsidized housing supporting close to 600,000 households across Canada. Built largely between 1946 and 1993, the portfolio is administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) partly directly, and largely through provinces and territories under long-term federal-provincial-territorial agreements. Each province takes a different approach: Ontario delivers social housing through 47 municipal Service Managers under the Housing Services Act 2011, with 30% Adjusted Family Net Income RGI calculation; British Columbia operates through BC Housing; Alberta through the Alberta Social Housing Corporation; Quebec through the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ) at 25% of income; and Indigenous housing runs through CMHC's on-reserve programs and the Urban, Rural and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
Yardi offers a dedicated product, Yardi Voyager Social Housing (YVSH), described by Yardi as "designed to meet all applicable Canadian social housing legislation" with RGI rent calculation rules specific to provinces including British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. Yardi markets YVSH with built-in RGI calculation, rent supplement management, annual review workflows, and RentCafe Social Housing resident portal. Assetsoft, a Yardi Independent Consultant Network (ICN) Member and Virtuoso Qualified consultancy headquartered in Markham, Ontario, configures YVSH for specific provider contexts: local Service Manager policies, non-standard subsidy arrangements, end-of-operating-agreement accounting reconfigurations, and the custom reporting each provider's Service Managers, funders, and board require.
Coast-to-Coast Scope
Provincial & Territorial Social Housing Frameworks
Canadian social housing is delivered through a federal-provincial-territorial framework. Each province and territory has its own administrative structure, rent calculation approach, and reporting requirements. Yardi configuration must match the framework wherever a provider operates.
Ontario
Governed by the Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA). Delivered through 47 Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs) and District Social Services Administration Boards (DSSABs).
HSA 2011 / O. REG. 298/01 / O. REG. 367/11British Columbia
Delivered through BC Housing — the provincial crown agency that funds, develops, and manages social housing. Rent calculated using provincial guidelines with regional variations.
BC HOUSING / HOUSING POLICY BRANCHAlberta
Delivered through the Alberta Social Housing Corporation (ASHC) under the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services. Community Housing Program uses rent scale calculations.
ASHC / AB HOUSING ACTQuebec
Delivered through the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ). Habitations à loyer modique (HLM) program operated by municipal housing offices with provincial reporting requirements.
SHQ / LOI SUR LA SOCIÉTÉ D'HABITATION DU QUÉBECIndigenous Housing
On-reserve housing administered by First Nations under federal programs through Indigenous Services Canada and CMHC, with urban, rural, northern, and distinction-based programs.
ISC / CMHC INDIGENOUS HOUSINGAtlantic & Prairie Provinces
Housing operates under distinct provincial legislation with specific rent calculation and reporting requirements across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, NL, and PEI.
PROVINCIAL HOUSING CORPORATIONSOntario Deep Dive: The Core Calculation
How Rent-Geared-to-Income Works in Ontario
Ontario's RGI rules are the most prescriptive in Canada and govern the largest share of the country's social housing portfolio. The simplified rules, effective July 1, 2020, make both tenant experience and Yardi configuration significantly cleaner than the pre-2020 framework.
The simplified formula
Under Ontario's simplified RGI rules (effective July 1, 2020), monthly rent for a family unit is calculated as:
RGI = (30% × Adjusted Family Net Income) ÷ 12 months
± Utility charges and allowances
≥ Minimum rent (indexed annually)
Adjusted Family Net Income is determined using the household's most recent CRA Notice of Assessment where possible. Utility adjustments apply under O. Reg. 316/19 Tables 4–8 — positive when the provider supplies utilities, negative as an allowance when the tenant pays directly.
Annual review only (since July 2021)
In-year RGI rent changes happen only once per year at annual review — not every time income changes.
HSA 2011 § 50 / O. Reg. 298/01Minimum rent, indexed annually
A regular minimum rent applies, indexed annually by Ontario's Rent Increase Guideline under the Residential Tenancies Act.
HSA 2011 / O. Reg. 298/01OW and ODSP benefit units use scale amounts
For households receiving Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program benefits, RGI is based on scale amounts.
O. Reg. 316/19 Tables 1–3Local income and asset limits
Since 2022, Service Managers are required to set local income and asset limits for RGI eligibility.
O. Reg. 367/11 (amended 2022)Student income is excluded
The income of full-time students is excluded from RGI calculation. This is a common configuration error.
O. Reg. 298/01Fluctuating income averaging
For households with fluctuating income, RGI is calculated using income averaged over the review period.
HSA 2011 / O. Reg. 298/01The Regulations That Drive Yardi Configuration
The specific federal and Ontario-level laws and regulations that drive Yardi configuration for social housing. Equivalent provincial frameworks apply in BC, AB, QC, and Atlantic Canada with parallel CMHC agreements and provincial housing legislation driving equivalent Yardi configuration work.
| Authority | What It Covers | Yardi Configuration Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Housing Services Act, 2011 (HSA) | The Ontario law governing social housing and RGI. Establishes Service Manager authority, provider obligations, and tenant rights. | Drives the entire RGI rule set: eligibility, income limits, rent calculation, annual review, and reporting. |
| O. Reg. 298/01 | Prescribes the method for calculating monthly rent under HSA. | Defines the 30% × Adjusted Family Net Income formula, utility adjustments, and minimum rent rules configured in Yardi. |
| O. Reg. 316/19 | Tables for OW/ODSP benefit unit rent scales, utility charges, and utility allowances. | Populates the scale amount lookup tables Yardi uses for benefit unit RGI calculation. |
| O. Reg. 367/11 | General HSA regulations. Amended 2022 to require Service Managers to set local income and asset limits. | Drives local eligibility rule configuration — income limits, asset limits, and household composition rules. |
| CMHC Social Housing Agreements | Federal operating agreements with provinces/territories and direct agreements with housing providers. | Drives subsidy tracking, reserve reporting, and agreement transition configuration. |
| Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) | Governs most Ontario tenancies including RGI. Certain RGI increase rules are carved out, but other tenancy rules apply. | Drives lease workflows, notice periods, and termination rules configured in Yardi. |
| Service Manager Policies | Local RGI Administration Manuals with rules and procedures specific to each Service Manager. | Drives local configuration: waitlist integration, vacancy management, annual review processes, and data exchange protocols. |
| Community Housing Renewal Strategy | Ontario’s provincial plan supporting non-profit and co-op housing through agreement transitions. | Drives subsidy allocation, funding source tracking, and reporting changes. |
| Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) | Joint federal-provincial funding program supporting providers through legacy agreement transitions. | Drives COCHI eligibility reporting, subsidy reconciliation, and capital repair tracking. |
| Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) | Requires accessibility standards in provider forms, communications, and tenant-facing materials. | Drives accessibility settings for notices, forms, statements, and resident communications. |
What We Configure & Build
YVSH Native Capabilities + Where Assetsoft Adds Value
Yardi Voyager Social Housing (YVSH) ships with a substantial set of native Canadian social housing capabilities. Assetsoft configures these to match each provider's specific Service Manager policies, and builds the custom workflows, reports, and integrations that provincial and federal compliance realities require beyond the native product.
RGI Calculation Engine
YVSH ships with built-in RGI rent calculation rules for Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Alberta, per Yardi's own product documentation. Assetsoft configures the engine for each provider's specific Service Manager context, local income and asset limits (per O. Reg. 367/11 amendments, effective July 1, 2023), utility charge/allowance tables under O. Reg. 316/19, and the minimum rent indexing specific to each annual rent increase guideline.
NATIVE YVSH + CONFIGURED BY ASSETSOFT
Annual Review & Rent Supplement Workflows
YVSH includes native workflows for annual and interim RGI reviews, correspondence generation, and rent supplement tracking, including subsidy payments to landlords or tenants and rent supplement agreement management, per Yardi's product documentation. Assetsoft configures review cycles, correspondence templates, and subsidy calculation logic to match each Service Manager's policies.
NATIVE YVSH + CONFIGURED BY ASSETSOFT
Household Composition & Income Verification
YVSH supports household income verification workflows using CRA Notice of Assessment, Proof of Income Statement, and income source categorization. Assetsoft configures full-time student income exclusions, Ontario Works / ODSP benefit unit handling, fluctuating income averaging logic, and the in-year income change rules (§59 of O. Reg. 367/11) that differ subtly across Service Managers.
NATIVE YVSH + CONFIGURED BY ASSETSOFT
Service Manager Reporting
YVSH includes Yardi's native report writer and Yardi Analytics, but Service-Manager-specific reporting (different quarterly reporting cycles, different household data requirements, different subsidy allocation templates across Ontario's 47 CMSMs and DSSABs) is custom work. Assetsoft builds custom report writer outputs and analytics dashboards aligned with each Service Manager's specific data requirements.
CUSTOM BUILD BY ASSETSOFT ON YVSH
CMHC reporting & operating agreement tracking
CMHC operating agreement reporting is not a pre-built YVSH report set. Assetsoft builds custom reports using Yardi's report writer and SQL scripting to produce: annual operating agreement reporting, household composition and demographics, subsidy utilization tracking, capital replacement reserve activity, and the data required for end-of-operating-agreement transitions.
CUSTOM BUILD BY ASSETSOFT ON YVSH
End-of-agreement accounting reconfiguration
End-of-mortgage and end-of-operating-agreement (EOA) transitions require substantial Yardi reconfiguration, not a native YVSH feature. Assetsoft rebuilds chart-of-accounts structures, reconfigures subsidy allocation rules, sets up new capital repair tracking under CMHC programs (National Housing Co-Investment Fund, Affordable Housing Fund), and transitions reporting to new service agreements and COCHI funding structures.
CUSTOM BUILD BY ASSETSOFT ON YVSH
Waitlist & vacancy coordination
YVSH includes RentCafe Social Housing for provider-administered applicant portals. Integration with municipal centralized waitlist systems, such as Toronto's MyAccesstoHousingTO, Peel's Access Peel, or other municipal systems, is custom integration work. Assetsoft builds and maintains these integrations, plus Special Priority Program (SPP) handling and data exchange workflows.
NATIVE YVSH + CUSTOM INTEGRATION BY ASSETSOFT
Multi-Service-Manager operations
For providers operating across multiple Service Manager areas (Hamilton, Halton, Waterloo, Brantford, etc.), the underlying YVSH rent calculation engine supports rule-set variation, but configuring different local income and asset limit rules, different waitlist systems, and different reporting cycles per Service Manager is deep configuration work that varies provider by provider.
CONFIGURED BY ASSETSOFT ON YVSH
Running Social Housing on Yardi or Planning a Move?
Whether you are migrating from a legacy social housing system, planning a new Yardi implementation, or navigating end-of-operating-agreement transitions under Ontario's Community Housing Renewal Strategy start with a no-obligation conversation with consultants who know both Yardi and the Canadian social housing regulatory landscape.
