Member information – Page 2 – Woodsworth Housing Co-operative

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:

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.

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

Woodsworth Co-op’s waiting list

Sorry, due to the length of our waiting lists, we are closed to new applicants for membership and housing.

Woodsworth Housing Co-operative is just one of many housing co-ops in the City of Toronto. We are independent of other housing co-ops.

However, we are a member of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto. They provide a list of co-ops and open waiting lists.
For more information see:
https://co-ophousingtoronto.coop/our-sector/how-to-apply-to-a-coop/

See also City of Toronto information on Finding housing – City of Toronto.
And also from the City of Toronto: Organizations that can help

If you have started the membership Process

See Membership, long-term guests and relocation about the external waiting list rules and procedures.

Internal relocation: waiting list for members who live here

Members can apply to move to a new unit within Woodsworth. You must apply using the relocation form. You can also find paper copies in the Photocopy Room.

Normally, the internal waiting list is available for you to check. Or talk to Management. They are responsible for managing waiting lists and unit allocation. You can also read the Membership Bylaw on this website.

Protected: Long-term guests and teens – Woodsworth membership opportunity

Long-term Guest Agreement

This agreement is for non-members who live with members in Woodsworth. The Board must approve long-term guest status.

Once approved by the Board of Directors, the new long-term guest and all members in the household must sign the Long-Term Guest agreement with the co-op. It must be witnessed by staff on behalf of the co-op.

Management is the contact for long-term guest status.

Requesting long-term guest status:

The LTG agreement is only signed by approved Long-Term Guests (LTGs), members in their household, and witnessed by Management.

First, members should make a written request to the board of directors to approve their guest as a long-term guest in their unit.

Please use the long-term guest request form (in the Photocopy Room and on the website.) Return it to Management so staff can make sure that the application is on a Board meeting agenda for approval.

The request must be signed by all co-op members in the household. The proposed guest must sign the request as well.

Long-term guest agreement.

Occupancy Bylaw Schedule B Long-term guest agreement

Source: Occupancy Bylaw, Schedule B

For your convenience, there is also a sample showing what a completed form looks like:

https://www.woodsworthcoop.ca/index.php/sample-of-long-term-guest-agreement-heres-how-the-completed-form-should-look/

You can compare your long-term guest agreement with that sample to ensure that it was done properly.

Be sure to get a copy of your completed and witnessed agreement. You will need that if you decide to apply for membership in Woodsworth.