Tag: membership

Membership for Long-Term Guests and Woodsworth teens

Mandatory Info Session – held once a year

If you want to become a Woodsworth member and live in Woodsworth:

    • You must attend the annual information session held by the Membership Committee

Watch the Weekly for the notice about the upcoming info session. Most frequently, they are held in the early fall Please pre-register by email to attend:   woodsworthmembership@gmail.com

Registration & Attendance Requirements

For Long-Term Guests (LTGs)

– Must bring your LTG agreement to the information session
– If you don’t have it, talk to staff before the session

Must bring:

  • Two items from the proof of residency list
  • One piece of photo ID
  • LTG agreement

    For Youth (Aged 16–19, “Turning 16’s”)

    – Must live in Woodsworth and have done so before turning 16
    – Do not need a long-term guest (LTG) agreement

Must bring:

Important Notes

You cannot receive a membership application without attending the session with the required documents.

Once you email to register, you’ll receive:

  • Date and time of the session
  • A list of documents you need to bring (proof of address, ID, etc.)
  • A reminder to bring your LTG agreement (if applicable)

    After the Info Session

    You’ll receive a membership application form when you leave the meeting

  • The application must be co-signed by the other member(s) in your unit. If approved for membership, the new member will share all rights and responsibilities for the unit with the existing member(s),
  • Adults will be contacted by the Membership Committee for an interview.
  • Sixteen to nineteen year olds don’t need a formal interview.After Board approval, you and your household must sign the Occupancy Agreement and then you become a member with full rights, including:-  The right to vote at members’ meetings
    –  The right to run in elections (Board positions require age 18+)
    –  The ability to apply for your own unit after 2 years of membership

    Important Notice: Membership Application Process

    The only way to receive a membership application form at Woodsworth is to follow the procedures and attend a scheduled information session. You cannot attend if you don’t bring the right documents.

    After Board approval, the new member and all current members in the household must co-sign the Occupancy Agreement. This completes the membership process.

    ➤ Please contact Management to arrange signing after you receive notification of Board approval.

    More information

    Contact the Membership Committee – woodsworthmembership@gmail.com

  • How a Long-Term Guest becomes a member
  • Woodsworth teens, become a member when you turn  16!
  • The Member Approval and Unit Allocation Bylaw has all the legal details

Proof of principal residence for internal membership applicants and Photo ID

Long-term guests and teens between the ages of 16 and 19 (Turning 16s) cannot receive an application form for membership in Woodsworth without presenting two (2) documents showing their name and their Woodsworth mailing address to prove that Woodsworth is their principal residence.

Two (2) types of documentation from the following list must be presented.
Unless stated otherwise, documents can be paper or a digital copy / screen print (but not a photocopy). The Membership Committee does not keep copies of the documents.
However Woodsworth Board may require to see the original copy.

According to human rights legislation, Woodsworth must deal with residents’ needs in a way that is inclusive and free of barriers based on disability, a duty to accommodate.

If you need help with the list of required documents, please ask Management or the Membership Committee for confidential help.

Bring the TWO documents from this list to the information session for membership:

  • Valid Ontario driver’s licence (or valid license with previous address and a temporary license with Woodsworth address). An application for a change of address is not accepted.
  • Valid Ontario Photo Card (only if a driver’s licence is not presented)
  • Ontario vehicle permit (ownership) (green form) with Woodsworth address
  • Bank statement with name and membership applicant’s address. (recent)
  • A major credit card (show physical card) plus a copy of a recent statement for that credit card. (Counts as 1 item.)
  • Income tax Notice of Assessment or T4 (recent)
  • Statement of direct deposit for Ontario Works (recent)
  • Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) (recent)
  • Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid (T4E) (recent)
  • Statement of Old Age Security (T4A) (recent)
  • Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits (T4A) (P) (recent)
  • Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Statement of Benefits (T5007) (recent)
  • Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions
  • Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) correspondence
  • Recent correspondence from the Federal or Ontario governments addressed to the membership applicant at Woodsworth, received within in the last 3 months. (Not forwarded mail)
  • Any of the following recent statements from a bank, trust company or credit union: TFSA RRSP, RRIF, RHOSP statement

Turning 16s: 16-19 year olds may present any of the above for long-term guests or any of the following:

  • School, college, university report card or transcript or letter from the school or institution on letterhead showing applicant’s name and Woodsworth address
  • Employer record (e.g. pay stub, letter from employer on company letterhead)

The list is part of the Membership  Bylaw, Attachment B.
The Board enhanced the list in June 2024.

PHOTO ID:

Additionally, membership candidates attending an info session must show one item of photo ID  with your name. (Address is not necessary.)

Photo ID you can use includes your passport, your school ID card, work ID card if there is a photo, drivers license, Ontario photo card, or if you choose,  your health card (OHIP card).

Please note that your drivers license or Ontario photo card that you use as photo ID can also be used as one of your documents for proof of residence.

Woodsworth households: makeup and impact on status

Who is part of a Woodsworth household?

In the co-op’s by-laws, household means:

  • any members living in the unit
  • children of the members who are under sixteen (16) and live in the unit
  • children of the members who have turned sixteen (16) and continue to live in the unit, and
  • long-term guests approved by the board of directors and have signed a long-term guest agreement for that unit.

The Ontario Family Law Act determines whether a child is considered the member’s child for the purposes of housing in Woodsworth.

Members have been approved by the Board of Directors as members and have signed an Occupancy Agreement for the unit.

The co-op gives members these rights:

  • live in their housing unit
  • use their parking space if any
  • use the co-op’s common facilities, and
  • be involved in the governance of the co-op

However, co-op by-laws limit members’ rights.

All members in a unit share equal rights and responsibilities with no priority for any member in the household.

Normally, income from all those in a household counts towards subsidy calculations. Talk to Management if this applies to you.

Who is not part of a household:

Only persons mentioned above are part of a member’s household. Others can stay in a member’s unit but only as casual guests.

They can also be sub-occupants (sub-lessees) and only if permitted by the by-laws and according to the Occupancy Bylaw.

Rights of occupants of a unit who are not members:

Long-term guests are not members but have co-op status. They have been approved by the Board of Directors as long-term guests when the members in their household have requested it and have signed a long-term guest agreement.

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
  • no right to a place on the co-op’s internal waiting list.

However, long-term guests may apply for membership with the agreement of the co-op members in their household.

What this means for unit selection – occupancy standards:

“Occupancy standards” means the minimum number of persons required to qualify for each of the co-op’s unit sizes. The  standards restrict the maximum unit size that a Woodsworth member can apply to move into or relocate to.

  • There must be at least one member in a unit.
  • All who have Woodsworth status including members, children, and long-term guests count towards the household size for  occupancy standards.
  • Guests without long-term guest status do not count towards household size for occupancy standards. Neither do visitors or sub-lessees.

Woodsworth’s occupancy standards (Occupancy Bylaw):

  • one-bedroom – a minimum of 1 person
  • two-bedroom-  a minimum of 2 persons, except a single person may occupy a 2 bedroom unit in the mid-rise including Wilton Street
  • three-bedroom – a minimum of 3 persons
  • four-bedroom – a minimum of 4 persons.

The co-op bylaws don’t specify maximum household size, but say it is determined by the City of Toronto Municipal Code, Property Standards, Occupancy Standards.
(See Occupancy Bylaw Article 9.3).

Non-member occupants can become members:

Long-term guests and young people age 16 or over who have not become members are all non-member occupants. While they have status with the co-op and count for household size, they do not have member rights.

The minimum age for becoming a member is sixteen (16).There is a slightly relaxed membership process for those between the ages of 16 and 19. (Turning 16s).

In all cases, applying for membership starts with attendance at an information session held by the Membership Committee.

Membership criteria

Woodsworth’s membership bylaw defines a member as a person who has completed the co-operative’s membership process, has been accepted for membership by the Board of Directors, and has signed an occupancy agreement.

Membership criteria:
Applicants for membership in the co-operative must meet the following standards:
(a) At least one member of the household is aged 16 years or older

(b) The household‘s credit and rental history together with other financial information can give the co-operative reasonable grounds to believe the household will pay the housing charge.

(c) The household meets or will meet the applicable Occupancy standards in the Occupancy Bylaw.

Applicants should have:
(a) An understanding of co-operative principles and member participation

(b) A positive attitude towards living in a community with people from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds and have a commitment to treating other members with respect

(c) An interest in contributing to the operation and life of the co-operative

(d) A willingness to accept their responsibilities as co-operative members

(e) Indication of permanency or long-term commitment to the co-operative

Non-discrimination
In assessing applications for membership, the co-operative will comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code and will not discriminate against anyone in a way that is prohibited by the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of age, ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, disability, family status, marital status (including single status), gender identity, gender expression, receipt of public assistance, sex, or sexual orientation.

The co-operative will take all reasonable steps to adjust any restriction, qualification or factor in the co-operative’s operations that results in indirect discrimination contrary to the Human Rights Code.

Source:  Membership Bylaw #84: member approval and unit allocation