Jun 10th, 2026
News Release: Ottawa Community Housing releases 2025 Annual Report, highlighting continued progress in housing and tenant support
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Ottawa, ON – June 10, 2026 –Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) presented its 2025 Annual Report today at its Annual General Meeting with Ottawa City Council, its sole shareholder. Led by Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Giguère and Board Chair Councillor Theresa Kavanagh, the AGM provided an opportunity to reflect on the past year and to reflect on the past year and highlight OCH’s continued contribution to a more effective and integrated housing system in Ottawa.
The report highlights OCH’s role in preserving existing community housing assets, expanding affordable housing supply, and strengthening housing stability for more than 33,000 tenants across approximately 15,500 homes.
As Ottawa’s largest community housing provider, OCH plays a key role in delivering the City’s housing objectives by planning, financing, developing, operating, and maintaining affordable housing over the long term. In 2025, the organization continued advancing the priorities of its 2024–2027 Strategic Plan, with a strong focus on efficiency, modernizing operations, and strengthening service delivery, while also ensuring resources are aligned to deliver impact.
Improving service delivery and tenant outcomes
In 2025, OCH continued to modernize service delivery and improve access to services for tenants.
Key initiatives included:
- Streamlining processes to improve service delivery and response times
- Advancing tools and approaches to better manage operations and tenant needs
- Strengthening coordination across teams and with partners to improve outcomes
Examples of progress include:
- Rent and lease services redesign, with tenant satisfaction increasing from 72% to 94%
- Refreshed Tenant Service Centres, with a 95% first contact resolution rate of incoming inquiries
- Launch of digital chat services with a multilingual feature to improve accessibility and convenience
- Overall tenant satisfaction is reaching 89% across key service areas, including maintenance, pest management, contact centre, rent and lease services, and Tenant Service Centres.
These improvements are part of OCH’s ongoing efforts to provide more responsive, accessible, and tenant-focused services.
Preserving and growing affordable housing
OCH continued to invest in both new development and the maintenance of existing homes, protecting public assets while responding to growing demand across Ottawa.
Key highlights include:
- Approximately 700 affordable homes are under construction
- Approximately 1,500 homes are in design and development
- Approximately $63 million invested in capital repairs and upgrades to existing homes, including plumbing replacement, electrical rehabilitation, and structural and cladding upgrades
- Council approval of an affordable housing debt-funding pilot helping finance approximately 500 affordable homes currently in development
- Approval through the Ontario Building Faster Fund to advance approximately 90 affordable homes at Heatherington
These investments support OCH’s long-term approach to maintaining housing assets while increasing affordable housing opportunities across Ottawa.
Strengthening housing stability and supporting tenants through partnerships
OCH continued working with the City of Ottawa, all levels of government, and community partners to connect tenants with services that support housing stability, health, and well-being.
Housing stability depends on more than housing alone. Through collaboration with nearly 100 partners, including fifty on-site service providers, OCH is helping strengthen coordination across sectors to support housing stability, health, and well-being.
Improving long-term sustainability and performance
Ongoing investments in building systems, energy efficiency, and operational improvements also contributed to better portfolio performance and long-term sustainability.
These efforts support OCH’s ability to manage its housing portfolio effectively while maintaining quality homes for tenants over time.
Quotes
“The past year has been focused on strengthening how we work, modernizing operations and service delivery, and aligning our resources to support our priorities. These efforts support our ability to deliver housing and services more effectively, while keeping tenants at the centre of everything we do. We remain committed to building on this progress.”
Stéphane Giguère, Chief Executive Officer, Ottawa Community Housing
“Ottawa Community Housing is a critical partner in our efforts to build more affordable housing across the city. This project shows what’s possible when we work together with a clear focus on getting shovels in the ground and delivering homes for the people who need them. Today’s milestone showcases how we are putting City owned land to work, moving projects from planning into delivery, and bringing new affordable homes closer to reality for Ottawa residents.”
Theresa Kavanagh, Councillor and Chair, Ottawa Community Housing Board of Directors
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About Ottawa Community Housing
Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) offers approximately 15,500 homes to about 33,000 tenants, including seniors, families, individuals, and people with disabilities. These homes are located in various communities throughout Ottawa and house a diverse population with different languages, cultures, and ethnicities. OCH is Ottawa’s primary community housing provider, managing two-thirds of the city’s housing portfolio and ranking as the second largest in Ontario. In 2026, OCH earned recognition for the ninth consecutive year as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers.
The Corporation operates at arm’s length from the City of Ottawa, our sole shareholder. OCH collaborates with nearly 100 community and private sector partners to serve and support OCH residents. The OCH portfolio includes a majority (90%) of social housing rentals (deep affordability) and affordable housing (at below-average market rents).
www.och-lco.ca | X | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Bluesky
Ottawa Community Housing also operates the ARRIV Properties banner.
Media Contacts
Chantal Genova
Manager, Media Relations and Public Information
Ottawa Community Housing
media@och.ca | 343‑997‑5700