Author: Woodsworth Housing Co-op

Woodsworth teens between the ages of 16 and 19

Young people between the ages of 16 and 19 who live in Woodsworth are encouraged to apply for membership.

Membership gives them the right to live here, to vote at general members’ meetings on budgets and housing charges, and to run for most elections. (Only 18 year olds and older can be on the Board.) And if they wish, as members, they may apply for their own unit after a required waiting period of two years. Any period of time before Board approval as a member is not included in the two years.

If they do not become members, they will automatically become long-term guests (LTGs). This is different from the rules for those who moved in after age 16, but the impact is the same. Long-term guests are not members and have no membership rights. If their family moves out, they must leave too. LTGs cannot inherit a unit alone without other members living in the unit.

However anyone who has grown up in Woodsworth can apply for membership at age 16. There is a special membership process for these teens. The Turning 16 process for membership is a little less formal. They must attend an information session, show proof that Woodsworth is their principal residence, and be approved by the Board of Directors. They do not have to have a formal interview, no credit check or income verification is required, nor do they need a long-term guest agreement. However they must qualify as children of members and live in Woodsworth.

Only those who are between the ages of sixteen and nineteen may use the “Turning Sixteen” application process. Watch for an announcement in the Weekly. You can also email the Membership Committee to ask about the next annual information session.
woodsworthmembership@gmail.com

The only way to receive a membership application form is to follow the procedures and attend an information session. The application must be co-signed by the other members in your unit. Once approved for membership, the new member shares all rights and responsibilities for the unit with the existing member(s).

Have you already turned  nineteen and live in Woodsworth?
If you lived here prior to your sixteenth birthday, you can apply in the regular way but don’t need a long-term guest agreement.

If you moved into Woodsworth after age 16, you too can apply for membership, but you’ll need board approval as a long-term guest and have a signed long-term guest agreement.

On the internal waiting list to relocate? This is for you!

The new Membership Bylaw #84 passed in September 2023 and clarified some rules about relocating in the co-op. Please review this to see if it is in your best interests to update your relocation form.

Who will live in the new unit: To join a waiting list, the household must meet occupancy standards for the new unit – a minimum of one person per bedroom except a single person may have a 2-bedroom unit in the mid-rise or Wilton Street.

All prospective occupants of the requested unit must be listed on the Internal Relocation Application form. Members will be allocated a unit based on their household size when they are offered a unit and must meet Woodsworth’s occupancy standards. Applicants, please update Management on contact information and household names. Changing unit size or occupant names does not change your position on the waiting list.

New members who have joined as long-term guests or Turning 16s must be a member for two years before joining the internal waiting list. (Anyone already on the waiting list when the bylaw was approved on September 26, 2023 only needs to meet the old requirement of 1 year.)

Unit preferences: Applicants can put their names down for a maximum of two choices at any one time, for any units they qualify for. They can change their choices in writing without losing their position on the waiting list. Applicants may specify that they only wish to live in a particular area of the co-operative, a particular type of unit or a particular unit or units. Applicants are skipped over if the avail- able unit does not meet the criteria selected by them.

Adding criteria does not give the household any priority for units. Being skipped for this reason does not count as a refusal. However adding special requests may delay being of- fered a unit.

Accepting or refusing a unit offer: If the co-operative is unable to contact the member next in line on the internal waiting list within three (3) business days, the unit will be offered to the next eligible member on the internal waiting list.

The original member will retain their position on the internal waiting list but the household will be considered to have refused the unit. The co-operative will maintain written records of the contacts made with each household including date and time of contact.

Households must notify Management within three (3) business days whether or not they wish to accept the unit. If they fail to do so, they will be considered to have refused the unit.

Households may refuse up to three units that have been offered and retain their position on the internal waiting list. When an applicant refuses three units that meet their own criteria on the relocation form, they will be moved to the bottom of all internal waiting lists.

Moving date when relocating: Once a member on the internal waiting list has accepted a unit, the member must move into the new unit on the date specified when the unit was offered. Members will be provided with at least thirty (30) days notice for an internal relocation.

For details about joining the waiting list and more, see the Membership Bylaw, Article 5.

The Internal Relocation Application form is part of the Membership Bylaw, Schedule E. There are copies in the Photocopy Room and on the here on the co-op website.

Moving out: leaving Woodsworth

Each member must give advance written notice of termination to the co-op when they will be moving out. The details of termination date and required notice are in the Occupancy Bylaw, Article 10.2. For most months, you must give at least 60 days notice starting from the first of the month. February and March have slightly different notice periods.

If part of a household moves out, the member who is leaving must notify Management in writing. If it is a long-term guest who is leaving, the members who continue to live in the unit must notify the co-op within ten days. They must do this whether or not that person gave notice.  While this is true of all households, those receiving housing charge subsidy are also required to do this based on the Housing Charge Subsidy Bylaw, Article 4.4 as well as the Occupancy Bylaw.

A person’s membership and occupancy rights end on the first day that person no longer occupies the unit as a principal residence.

See the Occupancy Bylaw, Section 10. How Members Withdraw from the Co-op.

The Move-Out Bylaw talks about the Co-op’s expectations about the move-out condition of  units. It is available in the Bylaw binder in the Photocopy Room and on the co-op website.

How a long-term guest becomes a member

How a long-term guest becomes a member:

Members can propose their long-term guest for membership in Woodsworth.  There is no waiting period after becoming a long-term guest before they start the application process.

Applicants  must be at least sixteen years old to become a member.

There is no requirement for long-term guests to become members.

Members should be aware that after the applicant becomes a member, they share the rights and responsibilities for the unit. They also gain the right to live in a unit in Woodsworth, to use the common facilities of Woodsworth, and to be involved in the governance of Woodsworth, including voting at members’ meetings.

Do you qualify for the Turning Sixteen process?

Those who live with parents or guardians in Woodsworth between the ages of 16 and 19 can apply for membership using the Turning 16 process.

Those who missed the Turning Sixteen window of ages 16-19 but lived at Woodsworth before they were sixteen years old can apply as long-term guests, but they will not need a signed long-term guest agreement. The regular process is followed apart from that.

The membership process for long-term guests:

The Membership Committee holds an internal information session annually. Watch the Weekly for an announcement. This session is a compulsory part of the process to becoming a member.

In order to apply for membership,
– there must be a long-term guest agreement (LTG agreement) properly signed and witnessed in the Management files and
– Woodsworth must be the long-term guest’s principal residence. The applicant must show two pieces of proof of their address to attend the session.

If these two requirements are not in place, the person cannot attend the required information session.

At the information session, the long-term guests will receive an application form which must be completed and returned to Management within three months. All members of the household must sign the application form since they are agreeing to share rights to the unit.

Once the completed application form is received, Management will do a credit check on applicants and income verification.

Two members of the Membership Committee will interview the applicant and the Committee will make a recommendation on membership to the Board of Directors.

At a Board meeting, the Directors will make a motion to approve membership, request more information as needed, or deny membership.

Management will notify the applicant and members of the Board decision. The members can appeal adverse decisions to the Board.

After approval as a member, sign the Occupancy Agreement!

Once approved, the new member must sign the household’s Occupancy Agreement. This completes the process of becoming a member. Signing the Occupancy Agreement is necessary for all members –  the Turning 16s, the long-term guests, returning members (former members), external members. See Management to do this because a staff member must witness your signatures. Keep a copy of the agreement. It is an important document since it gives you rights.

The new member shares equal rights and responsibilities for the unit with the existing members, with no priority for any member in the household and the new member is eligible to participate in democratic decision-making by voting at members’ meetings or joining or being elected to the Board or committees.

Special rules:

A resident who has become a member by living with existing member(s) must wait two (2) years from the date of becoming a member to take sole responsibility for that unit or to apply to relocate independently of that member.

They cannot join the internal waiting list until the required waiting period of two years has elapsed. Any period of time before Board approval as a member is not included in the two years. However, they may be eligible to move with the rest of the household.

There are two exceptions: Those on the waiting list prior to approval of Bylaw 84 on Sept 26, 2023 must wait 1 year only (based on the old bylaw). See also: Occupancy Bylaw, Article 10.4 Death of a member.

For information on membership and the process, contact the Membership Committee.

Bylaws:

The Occupancy Bylaw covers the rules about long-term guests. The Membership Bylaw covers the rules about long-term guests becoming members.

The Membership Bylaw covers becoming a member as a long-term guest and membership for sixteen to nineteen year olds (Turning Sixteens). This is a less formal process geared to teens. The bylaw also covers unit allocation and waiting lists.

Periodically, the co-op will invite people to apply as external members. That process is in the Membership Bylaw as well.

Woodsworth’s confidentiality rules are in the Organizational Bylaw.

Who is responsible for what?

The Board is responsible for approving of long-term guests and approving membership.

The Membership Committee is responsible for holding information sessions, interviewing and making recommendations to the Board about applicants. The committee does not deal with getting long-term guest status.  Email address:  woodsworthmembership@gmail.com

Management oversees applications for the long-term guest process, including receiving requests and getting long-term guest agreements signed, tasks related to membership such as credit checks, tracking Board decisions and approval about status (long-term guest and member) and for occupancy agreements.

Management is also responsible for unit allocations, based on the Membership Bylaw.

If you want information on becoming a long-term guest, see How guests get long-term guest (LTG) status

 

How guests get long-term guest (LTG) status

Everyone living in the Co-op must have a relationship (status) with the Co-op. Members and long-term guests (LTGs) all have a legal agreement with the Co-op. Members sign an Occupancy Agreement, and LTGs sign a Long-term Guest Agreement. These clarify individuals’ expectations about their role, responsibility and rights in the Co-op. This also allows the Co-op to deal with any problems that might arise from that household.

Casual guests have no status and are not considered part of a household. A casual guest may not stay at the co-op for more than three months in any year.

Teens who live in Woodsworth before they are sixteen years old do not have to apply for long-term guest status. When they turn 16, they automatically become long-term guests. No long-term guest agreement is necessary if they live with a parent or guardian. They are encouraged to apply for membership. There is a special procedure for those Turning 16 (ages 16-19).

What is a Long-term guest (LTG)?

A non-member who is approved by the Board of Directors to live as a part of a member’s household.  An LTG is not a member and has no member rights or privileges. The Occupancy Bylaw has the rules about the long-term guest process and rights. The long-term guest agreement is an attachment to the bylaw. Long-term guests may apply for membership as an internal applicant but there are time restrictions in place for relocating to their own unit.

Becoming a Long-term guest:

The Board of Directors is responsible for approving long-term guests and Management helps with the procedures and updating files. The Membership Committee has no role in approving long-term guests.

Woodsworth members can make a written request to the board of directors to approve someone as a long-term guest. Use the application form for long-term guest that is available online or in the Photocopy Room.

The request must be signed by all co-op members in the household. The proposed guest must also sign the request.

Once completed, if this is given or emailed to Management, the Manager can ensure it is on an upcoming Board agenda. The Board agenda is done by the Board and the manager. Keep a copy of your request.

Application form: Request for long-term guest status

Approval by directors of long-term guest status:

The board may choose to approve a long-term guest for a fixed period or for a maximum period or for an indefinite period. This must be stated in the board’s approval motion. If approval is for a fixed or maximum period, the person will no longer be a long-term guest at the end of the period. The board of directors can cancel long-term guest status or change the terms of long-term guest status at any time.

Sign a long-term guest agreement:

For long-term guest status to be in effect, all members in the household and their guests must sign and comply with a long-term guest agreement.

The agreement is signed only after approval by the Board and witnessed by Management.(Long-term guests do not sign the Occupancy Agreement.)

Talk to Management after Board approval about going to the Office to sign your agreement. A staff member will witness your signatures. Keep a copy of the agreement. This agreement will be necessary if the LTG wishes to become a member in the future. There is no waiting period for applying for membership, but the required information sessions are held just once a year.

Impact of long-term guest status:

Long-term guests have no right to occupy the unit independent of the members, no right to occupy any other unit in the co-op, and no right to a place on the co-op’s internal waiting list. Long-term guests also have no voting rights.

The member is still responsible to the co-op for all housing charges and all the member’s obligations to the co-op. The long-term guest cannot pay anything to the member, such as key money, and the only payment permitted is a fair share of the housing charges. Any other payment is against the law.

However long-term guests (LTGs) are considered occupants with co-op status when the member(s) apply for a larger unit, thereby helping to meet the Occupancy Bylaw’s occupancy standards. The co-op agrees that the long-term guest can live in the member’s unit and the guest is entitled to written notice if they are asked to leave.  The long-term guest must immediately leave the unit when the member’s occupancy rights end.

Members who receive rent subsidy (RGI) should know that the LTGs income may be used in the calculations. Talk to Management.

Membership:

Members may propose membership for long-term guests. The applicant must have a signed long-term guest agreement on file with Management.

Help and information:

For information on Long-Term Guest status, contact Management.

The Occupancy Bylaw covers the basic rules about becoming a long-term guest and their rights.

For information about membership for long-term guests, see How a long-term guest becomes a member