Housing-Unit Takeover – Issue Brief

This issue brief is the fifth publication in ACTO’s Your Way Forward (YWF) issue brief series. It builds on key themes from the research report. “The Journey to Housing Stability for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence“.

Housing-Unit Takeover (HUT) is a term used to describe a situation where a tenant’s guest refuses to leave their housing unit, causing tenancy issues. In many cases, unhoused or precariously housed guests exploit a tenant’s vulnerability, using coercion or intimidation to gain entry. What starts as help can quickly turn into harm.

This brief explores this often overlooked threat to housing stability and will help you understand how a HUT can occur, the population groups most at risk, and policies needed to prevent this form of housing insecurity.

This project was produced by ACTO’s Your Way Forward team with support from the Department of Justice Canada.

Housing-Unit Takeover Issue Brief

By Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario

The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) is a specialty community legal clinic, funded by Legal Aid Ontario, with a province-wide mandate to serve low-income tenants across the province. The clinic also coordinates the Tenant Duty Counsel Program (TDCP) across Ontario, which provides legal information and assistance to self-represented tenants appearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board.