‘Cash for keys’ offers are making people homeless, say housing advocates in northern Ontario

Housing advocates in northern Ontario’s largest city say “cash for keys” agreements are making people homeless over the long term.

 A cash for keys offer is when a landlord offers a tenant cash — often equivalent to two months of rent or more — to move out.

The agreements are a way to bypass hearings through the Landlord and Tenant Board, which can take several months.

Raymond Landry, the co-ordinator for Sudbury’s Homelessness Network, said the offers might seem attractive at first glance, but low vacancy rates in the city, coupled with high rents, means they often fall behind after a couple of months.

“When they take that cash, if they’re not aware of the housing situation as it is, they’ll realize that being given $3,000 or $5,000 will not take you far into this housing market,” Landry said.

He said tenants who receive these offers are often already in vulnerable situations. In many cases they rely on programs like Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) to help subsidize their rent.

Evie Ali, the executive director of a charitable organization called the Go-Give Project that supports Sudburians with substance use disorders, described cash for keys agreements as a “loophole around the eviction process.”

Like Landry, she said many people who accept the offers become homeless shortly afterward and “there has been an increase over the last two years.”

Sherry Jordan, owner of Jordan Group Property Management which manages around 300 properties in Greater Sudbury, and said her group offers cash for keys deals to tenants on a monthly basis.

Jordan said landlords will offer a tenant cash for keys when the tenant has already defaulted on rent.

“Instead of going through the process of the Landlord Tenant Board, they could go directly to the tenant and offer them some money to leave by a certain date,” she said.

Another reason landlords might offer a tenant cash for keys is if they want to sell the property or offer it to new tenants.

Jordan said when one of her tenants defaults on their rent, her property management group will often forgive any arrears if they accept the cash offer.

She said it’s beneficial for tenants to accept the offer if they were already in arrears, and were going to be evicted for that reason eventually anyway.

The cash payout gives them an opportunity to find a place they can afford, she said.

If tenants are unable to afford market rent in Sudbury, which can run from $1,000 or more a month for a bachelor apartment, Jordan said the onus should be on the provincial government to make sure people who rely on programs like Ontario Works and ODSP can meet their basic needs.

“The people that live on assistance that need to be provided housing subsidies by the government, you know, they rely on that money to keep them housed,” Jordan said.

“And when the government is not increasing the cost of the housing subsidy with everything going on in the community, you know, with all the expenses and the rents going up and stuff, now you’re leaving that tenant stuck. Because where are they to turn when they’re relying on the government to keep them housed?”

A single person on disability payments can receive up to $1,408 a month to cover basic needs and shelter. A single person on Ontario Works can get up to $733 a month.

ODSP rates tied to inflation

In an email to CBC, Chris Clarke, a spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa, said ODSP rates have increased by 20 per cent since September 2022.

The most recent increase, tied to inflation, was a 2.8 per cent hike to the rates in July 2025.

Clarke said a 400 per cent increase to the earnings exemption for ODSP recipients means a person can qualify for an additional $200 a month without it affecting the financial benefits of their social assistance.

He also noted the most recent increase to the minimum wage in Ontario, hitting $17.60 per hour in October.

But Ontario’s Living Wage Network argues a single person in northern Ontario now needs to make at least $21.10 per hour to meet their basic needs.