You can apply to live in Department of National Defence (DND) housing if you are:
The Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA) allocates housing based on the following priorities:
In all cases, we assign housing based on the household size on a first-come, first-served basis, rather than on rank or position.
* If you are a Reserve Force member, you must be employed full-time (37.5 hours per week) and on a 6-month contract at minimum.
Your military records will detail household size. We will use this to determine the size of housing that may be assigned (based on priority and availability). We follow the household size indicated on your posting instruction or the household size indicated by your Orderly Room if your posting instructions were issued more than a year ago. We are not required to assign a housing unit that is larger than that is warranted by your record’s household size but we can in some circumstances where there is availability.
If you are a Priority 3 applicant, you do not need to provide a confirmation of household size because you will be offered any unit that is surplus to Priority 1 and 2 needs, and size will not be considered.
There are some homes that have been modified to meet the needs of occupants with disabilities at most housing locations. Though we are required to maintain 2% of our housing portfolio as either barrier-free housing or as easily adaptable to barrier-free access housing, this requirement will only be met as new housing units are built. Existing housing and barrier-free housing needs are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
As a single member, you may apply to live in DND housing and you will be considered in the same priority system as all other applicants.
If you are on or are about to proceed on IR, you may apply to live in DND housing. You will be considered as a Priority 1 applicant and a household of one.
Once your IR status has been lifted and your family and furniture have been moved at government expense, you must re-apply for housing and your application will be considered as a Priority 1.
It is possible to apply for short term or interim occupancy. These housing offers are possible at the discretion of the Housing Services Centre manager. These types of allocations do not involve regular preparations (e.g. painting, floor refinishing, etc.) but meet all health and safety standards. Note that a minimum occupancy of 60 days is required or charges will apply.
It is possible for you to share your housing unit with non-family members. However, since we do not “approve” unofficial household members, we are not required to allocate housing that is any larger than necessary based on your official household size, as indicated on your posting instructions or as indicated by your Orderly Room if your posting instructions were issued more than a year ago. We may allocate a larger house based on availability.
When the number of applicants exceeds the available DND housing, we create a waiting list, by priority, for each housing size. We will only allocate Priority 2 after the Priority 1 list has been exhausted. We will only allocate Priority 3 after both the Priority 1 and Priority 2 lists have been exhausted.
Your Change of Strength (COS) date and the date on the Application for DND Housing form will determine the placement and order on the waiting lists.
While you are on the waiting list, we will:
If you refuse a housing offer and decide to reapply, your new application will be dated as of the date the refused unit would have been available for occupancy or as of the date of your new application (whichever is later).
You can choose to remove your name from the waiting list by contacting us. We will remove you from the waiting list automatically if:
You can apply to stay in your unit past your date of release and you will be considered a Priority 1 applicant if you are eligible to move to an Intended Place of Residence (IPR), or if you are enrolled in an approved career transition or training program.
If you wish to request an occupancy extension, you must submit it in writing, including a copy of your release message confirming your IPR eligibility or your enrolment in an approved career or transition training program.
If you wish to extend the existing occupancy agreement past your date of release, and you are not eligible to move to an IPR and you are not enrolled in an approved career transition or training program, you may be eligible for a short extension at our discretion.