RETIREMENT HOMES and SENIORS RESIDENCES
Many terms are used for housing geared toward older adults that are not Long-Term Care Homes: seniors home, seniors residence, retirement residence, retirement home, and seniors housing. For simplicity, these can be referred to collectively as seniors residences. Some are licensed under the Ontario Retirement Homes Act, 2010, while others are not.
Licensed residences:
A residence must be licensed under the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 if:
Licensed retirement homes are regulated by the Ontario Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA). They are also subject to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. Tenancy disputes are handled by the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Non-licensed residences:
Some seniors residences providing services are not required to be licensed because the operators do not directly provide care services to the residents. Instead these operators connect residents to services provided by external providers. External providers might be from the private, non-profit or government sectors.
No special tax rules for residences:
The Income Tax Act and the Ontario Taxation Act, 1997 do not specifically mention seniors residences. These acts do not treat retirement seniors residences as a distinct category of housing for tax purposes. Likewise, UFile does not have any special sections or choices for seniors residences.
Residence expense statements:
Seniors residences should ideally provide a detailed statement that separates rent from other charges, and itemizes any amounts that may qualify as medical expenses. Below is an example statement that breaks out attendant care expenses. Attendant care expenses might be claimable as a medical expense. For more information see the document, Attendant Care as a Medical Expense.
References: