‘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” deals are leaving people homeless in the long term.

A cash-for-keys offer is when a landlord offers a tenant cash (often equivalent to two months’ rent or more) to move out.

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

Raymond Landry, coordinator of the Sudbury Homeless Network, said the deals may seem attractive at first glance, but the city’s low vacancy rates, coupled with high rents, mean they often fall behind after a couple of months.

“When they take that money, if they’re not aware of the housing situation as it is, they’re going to realize that getting $3,000 or $5,000 isn’t going to get them very far in 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 rent.

Evie Ali, chief executive of a charity called Go-Give Project that supports Sudburians with substance use disorders, described cash-for-keys deals as a “loophole in the eviction process”.

Like Landry, he said many people who accept the offers become homeless soon after and “there’s been an increase in the last two years.”

Sherry Jordan, owner of Jordan Group Property Management, which manages about 300 properties in Greater Sudbury, said her group offers cash for key deals to tenants monthly.

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

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

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

Jordan said that when one of his tenants doesn’t pay rent, his property management group often forgives any arrears if he accepts the cash offer.

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

Paying cash gives them a chance to find a place they can afford, he said.

If tenants can’t afford market rent in Sudbury, which can cost from $1,000 or more a month for a bachelor pad, Jordan said the onus should fall on the provincial government to ensure people who rely on programs like Ontario Works and ODSP can meet their basic needs.

“People who live off the assistance that the government is supposed to provide them with housing subsidies depend on that money to maintain their housing,” Jordan said.

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

A single person receiving disability payments can receive up to $1,408 a month to cover basic needs and housing. A single person in Ontario Works can receive up to $733 a month.

ODSP rates linked to inflation

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

The most recent increase, linked to inflation, was a 2.8 percent rate increase in July 2025.

Clarke said a 400 percent increase in the income exemption for ODSP recipients means a person can qualify for an additional $200 a month without it affecting their welfare financial benefits.

He also highlighted the most recent increase in the minimum wage in Ontario, which reached $17.60 per hour in October.

But Ontario’s Living Wage Network maintains that a single person in northern Ontario now needs to earn at least $21.10 an hour to meet basic needs.