Applying for membership & housing – Woodsworth Housing Co-operative

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.

Returning members: about previous members coming home to Woodsworth

Woodsworth has long had bylaws that allowed previous members to request to return to Woodsworth. Usually, some change in the former member’s circumstances prompted the move out – such as job change or family responsibilities.

The Membership Bylaw has the full details in Article 2.3.5. Returning members applying as internal applicants.

Summary of the bylaw:

Returning members can apply using the internal process by contacting the co-op and attending an internal information session.

The candidate must not have left owing money to Woodsworth, nor were evicted, nor left after a notice to appear, nor in situations of domestic violence.

They must have resided in the co-op as members for at least two (2) years. Any time as long-term guest does not count.

They must attend any information session, fill in an application, and be interviewed by the Membership Committee. Management will do a credit check, a landlord check and income verification. Board will consider their application and make the decision.

After approval by the Board, the returning member must request a unit through the internal relocation process. There is no waiting period. The date that the co-operative receives their completed Request for Internal Relocation form is their record date for the purposes of the waiting list.

If the previous member has others in their household who do not qualify as returning members, the new member must apply for long-term guest status for them. This applies to anyone aged 16 and over. Only previous members may apply for membership through this process.

Former resident non-members such as former long-term guests can only apply as an external applicant when the external waiting list is open.

To make things easier:

Find documentation that you lived in Woodsworth, such as your Occupancy Agreement, correspondence about move-out, other proof that you lived in Woodsworth as a member for two years or more. The co-op will require proof that you lived here.

About moving in Woodsworth:

Woodsworth has a long external and internal waiting list. Our external waiting list is closed at this point. A successful applicant for membership will have a long wait.

Woodsworth has also made some changes to how units are allocated.

See Membership Bylaw, Article 4. Allocating units by waiting lists. One big change is that the co-op alternates between internal and external waiting lists when filling units.

See also the details in Article 5. Internal waiting list for unit allocation which discusses skipping if the unit does not meet your particular criteria. And unit size depends on occupancy standards. This is in the Membership Bylaw as well as the Occupancy Bylaw, Article 9.3.

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

Summary of unit allocation procedures

This summary based on the Membership Bylaw #84 covers internal and external waiting lists:

– Internal relocation requests
– Exceptions: There are some cases where a member or household can’t join the internal waiting list.
– Splitting households (internal)
– External waiting lists for units
– All unit allocations, internal and external
– Unit preferences, internal and external
– Making and receiving unit offers – Woodsworth alternates between waiting lists of the same size.
– Timelines for contacting people, and accepting units, for internal and external unit allocations.
– No fee.
– Move-in date requirements
– Special situations

Internal relocation requests

(a) Members normally are allowed to apply to relocate within Woodsworth.

(b) Members may apply to transfer to any size or type of unit that meets applicable occupancy standards.

(c) Households living in Woodsworth and Returning Members who have been approved by the Board of Directors as members may join the internal waiting list. Households must apply using the Relocation request form. [Membership Bylaw #84, Article 5.7]

(d) There are copies of the Internal Relocation Application form in the Photocopy Room and on the co-op website.

(e) Position on the internal waiting list

An applicant’s place on the internal waiting list is determined by the date that a completed Request for Internal Relocation form is received by the co-operative office, subject to any restrictions on joining the waiting lists, regardless of unit size request changes.

2. Exceptions: There are some cases where a member or household can’t join the internal waiting list.

(a) A household in arrears can’t be on the waiting list. (Exception: on subsidy) [Article 5.1.2 c]

(b) Minimum period of residence in a unit – Members must live in their unit for at least two (2) years before they can apply to relocate. This applies to all relocation requests . However the Board may waive it. See Article 5.2.5. [Article 5.1.2 a]

(c) New members who became members as long-term guests or Turning 16s must wait two years after Board approval of membership before joining the internal waiting list. Exception: if already on the waiting list as of Sept 26, 2023, the old bylaw of 1 year wait applies. [Article 5.1.2 b]

They cannot join the internal waiting list until the required waiting period of two years has elapsed. The time the new member lived in the co-op previously to becoming a member does not count as part of the 2 years’ wait. [Article 2.3.3 I]

They cannot inherit a unit alone until they have lived with the household for two (2) years after membership approval. Exception: Occupancy Bylaw, Article 10.4 Death of a member. However, they may be eligible to move with the rest of the household.

See restrictions on joining the waiting list in Article 5.1.2 (b).

3. Splitting households (internal)

(a) This is in the Occupancy Bylaw but the new Membership Bylaw has more specific information.

(b) There may be a requirement to move if one or more occupants move out and the remaining household does not meet occupancy standards. [Occupancy Bylaw Article 9.4] unless the remaining household has lived in the unit for three years and achieved tenure. For details see [Occupancy Bylaw, 9.4a].

(c) The households on subsidy have their own rules on occupancy. See Appendix C of the Occupancy Bylaw and the Housing Charge Subsidy Bylaw.

4. External waiting lists for units

(a) Households who used the external membership process and have been approved by the Board as members are put on the external waiting list. (Staff transfers the information from the application form to the external waiting list. All prospective occupants must be listed.) [Article 6.1]

(b) Management transfers requests from the external application form to the external waiting lists.

(c) Position on the external waiting list
The record date for determining an applicant’s place on the co-operative’s external waiting list will be the date when a completed application is received by the office.

5. All unit allocations, Internal and External

(a) All prospective occupants of the requested unit must be listed on the application form in order to meet occupancy standards.

(b) All households must meet occupancy standards for the unit size they have requested. There is a minimum of 1 occupant per bedroom except for the mid-rise and Wilton Street where a single member household can have a 2-bedroom unit. [Article 4 c, Article 4d]

(c) The household can be made of up people currently living in the co-op or those who will apply for long-term guest status when a unit is offered to their family / household. [Article 4e]

(d) Management handles waiting lists, unit offers, and moves. Applicants, please update Management on contact information and household names. Delays in response may affect your position on the waiting lists.

6. Unit preferences, internal and external

(a) Applicants can join the lists for a maximum of two choices at any one time, for any unit for which they qualify. [Article 4g]

(b) Applicants may specify that they only wish to live in a particular area of the co-operative, a particular floor, a particular type of unit or a particular unit or units.

(c) Adding special requests may delay being offered a unit. See 5.2.4 (b). This information is listed in the relocation application form.

(d) Applicants are skipped over by Management if the available unit does not meet the criteria selected by the member. This does not count as a refusal. [Article 4h]

(e) Adding criteria such as location does not give the household any priority for units when their preferred unit becomes available. They must be next on the waiting list when a match comes up for their preference. Adding criteria does not give the household the right to skip members above them on the waiting list. [Article 4h] [Article 5.2.4b]

(f) Members can make changes to unit size or other preferences or household names without losing their place on the waiting list. [Article 4g]

7. Making and receiving unit offers – Woodsworth alternates between waiting lists of the same size.

[This is the full Membership Bylaw Article 4.1]

(a) The co-operative will fill vacancies alternately from the internal and external waiting lists unless there is someone with established special priority for that sized unit. See Article 5.2.1 about priority list.

(b) Alternation of waiting lists applies to all sized units: 1, 2. 3 and 4 bedroom units.

(c) One (1) of each unit size will be filled from the internal waiting list and then the next available of that unit size will be filled from the external waiting list. Each unit size (bedroom) waiting list operates independently.

(d) One bedroom units will be filled alternately between the one bedroom internal and external waiting lists.

Two bedroom units will be filled alternately between the two bedroom internal and external waiting lists.

Three bedroom units will be filled alternately between the three bedroom internal and external waiting lists.

Four bedroom units will be filled alternately between the four bedroom internal and external waiting lists

(e) If no one on the appropriate waiting list is qualified for or accepts the available unit, the alternate waiting list for that size unit will be used.

(f) Only moves from the regular internal and external waiting lists count for alternating between internal and external wait lists. A priority move doesn’t count as an internal move. Allocation of wheelchair adapted units does not count as an internal or external move.

8. Timelines for contacting people, and accepting units, for internal and external unit allocations.

(a) Contacting people with unit offers: if unable to contact the person next in line on the waiting list within three (3) business days, the unit will be offered to the next eligible member. It is considered a refusal. [Internal Article 5.5.1] [External Article 6.2.4]

(b) Making a decision: a household offered a unit will be given three (3) business days to decide whether to accept the unit [Internal Article 5.5.2] [External Article 6.2a]

(d) No reply or no contact/no response counts as a refusal. [Internal Article 5.5.1], [External Article 6.2.4]

(e) For Priority Moves, after three refusals, they are removed from the priority waiting list. Management must notify the member. [Article 5.5.5]

(f) Once a unit is accepted, the household is removed from the waiting list for other sizes or types of unit. [Article 4k]

9. No fee

There is no relocation nor application fee. [Article 5]

10. Move-in date requirements

(a) Internal waiting list: Members will be provided with at least thirty (30) days notice for an internal relocation. [5.5.7]

(b) External list: They will not be required to take occupancy and commence payment of the housing charges until the first day of the third month following the offer, approximately sixty (60) days. [6.2.8]

11. Special situations

(a) There is a priority waiting list.
Members who require accommodation for disabilities or other special circumstances can request a priority move. There are special rules in place for this. See Management. See Article 5.2.1 of the Membership Bylaw and Schedule F.

(b) A few units designated as wheelchair adapted are filled differently. See Article 9 of the Membership Bylaw, Wheelchair adapted units.

See the Membership Bylaw #84 and the relocation application form

External waiting lists: your first unit in Woodsworth

To get on Woodsworth’s external waiting list, you must attend an information session. These are held irregularly and infrequently.

However we do not anticipate opening our waiting list in the near future. Our external waiting list is full.

When an info session is scheduled (i.e. when the external waiting list opens), Woodsworth announces it to members through our Weekly newsletter so they can inform family and friends. We publish it on this website. We notify the Co-op Housing Federation of Toronto and they publicize it on their website.

New members moving into the co-op have gone through the membership process as outlined in the Membership Bylaw #84. They have attended the info session, been interviewed by the Membership Committee, and been approved for membership by the Board of Directors.

Units are offered through the waiting lists. External members are offered a unit based on their position on the External Waiting List. Woodsworth staff manage waiting lists, allocating units, and move-ins.

Your place on the waiting list:

External applicants make requests for size and type of unit on the membership application form. Management transfers the requests to the external waiting lists.

Please ensure that Woodsworth management has up-to-date contact information for you if you are on the waiting list, including address, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Applicants will only be offered a unit that they qualify for based on the Occupancy Bylaw’s occupancy standards:
Occupancy Bylaw, Article 9.3 (a) says:
The minimum number of persons for each of the co-op’s unit sizes:
– for one-bedroom units, the minimum is 1 person
– for two-bedroom units, the minimum is 2 persons, except a single person may occupy a 2 bedroom unit in the mid-rise including Wilton Street
– for three-bedroom, the minimum is 3 persons
– for four-bedroom, the minimum is 4 persons
The number of persons does not include short-term guests or visitors.

Applicants can specify location, etc. but if the available unit is not a match, the household is skipped. It does not count as a refusal. [Article 4h] Adding special requests may delay being offered a unit.

Changes can be made to requested units, unit type, location without changing your position in the waiting list. (The Membership Bylaw, Article 4g].

To check your place on the external waiting list or update your information, please contact the Office by phone (416-363-3418) or by email – Contact management

Check out the rules about unit allocation, time lines (offers, refusals), and more: Summary of unit allocation procedures