Millionaires declared ineligible for Sault's geared-to-income housing

Households with more than $150,000 in assets will no longer be able to get social housing assistance

The Sault doesn't have a problem with millionaires living in social housing. But the new rule follows a $100,000 limit set by Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board

District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board has set an asset limit of $150,000 for eligibility for subsidized social housing.

At a meeting tonight, the DSSMSSAB board voted to establish the limit to ensure future applicants with extensive holdings in excess of $150,000 aren't eligible for rent-geared-to-income assistance.

So far, none of DSSMSSAB's tenants or applicants have cash or other assets exceeding $150,000.

But chief administrative officer Mike Nadeau said Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board recently set a $100,000 limit.

Sault Ste. Marie Housing Corp. currently has a waitlist of approximately 1,300 applicants.

"The recommended asset limit will still recognize that many individuals depend on their assets to live," says Jeff Barban, DSSMSSAB's director of housing services.

"Disabled adults rely on the trust accounts, single mothers drawing on a lump-sum divorce settlement and seniors depending on the sale of a family home and life savings to support themselves in their old age," Barban said in a report to the board.

"Forcing individuals to dispose of their entire assets to secure rent-geared-to-income assistance increases their vulnerability."

The new asset limit is "very generous" and will "ensure equity in our system and would only be applicable to households with significant assets," Barban said.