Book Description

The Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) was announced by the Government of Canada in the spring of 1973 and became operational the following year. It came about because of the dual recognition that the existing housing stock represented an important national asset that needed to be preserved, and that a significant portion of this stock was substandard and occupied by households unable to afford necessary repairs. Over the following 26 years, more than 600 000 dwellings, mostly comprised of self-contained homeowner and rental units, but also a good number of beds in hostels, dormitories, special care facilities and rooming houses, were repaired with RRAP assistance across all regions and areas of the country. During this time, RRAP demonstrated great versatility in adapting to the priorities of the day in achieving a broad range of public objectives from improving the housing conditions of low-income Canadians, neighourhood improvement and employment generation, to meeting the special needs of persons with disabilities and the homeless. This history is divided into two main parts. The first recounts the evolution of RRAP from its inception to the present day. The second part explores the evolution of critical aspects of RRAP related to need, its design, management and accomplishments, and concludes with an epilogue which reviews reasons for RRAP's durability and explores the need for targeted housing rehabilitation programs in the future.