Subsidized housing, also known as Rent Geared to Income (RGI), operates under provincial or municipal acts that are separate from social assistance programs such as ODSP. Because the rules of each program are different, it is imperative that recipients are familiar with asset and income thresholds. In 2026, where you live in Canada determines whether an Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) and Henson Trust are excluded when determining asset and income limits.
In Ontario, RGI rules under the Housing Services Act states that both assets and income from an RDSP are explicitly excluded from the calculation of Adjusted Family Net Income (AFNI). Toronto recently added a $150,000 asset limit for RGI eligibility, and while assets from an RDSPs are exempt from this limit, money inside a Henson Trusts is not.
British Columbia Housing uses something called imputed income. The BC Rent Scale calculates imputed income from non-exempt assets such as a savings account or Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) to determine rent. RDSPs and income from RDSPs are explicitly excluded from this equation. Assets inside a Henson are also excluded, but payments from Henson Trust to the beneficiary count towards their household income.
Alberta is the most unfavorable province for RDSP beneficiaries who are utilizing RGI housing. While the RDSP is an exempt asset, rent is calculated based on line 15000 (total income) of a tax return. And the grant, bonds, growth and rollover portions of an RDSP payment are reported as taxable income.
RDSP or Henson Trust?
For RGI tenants, the RDSP is often the superior choice over a Henson Trust. In every province except Ontario, payments from a Henson Trust, or any other trust, are treated as household income which could be problematic and result in increased rent. It is definitely worth mentioning that the Henson trust does have a loophole via the direct to vendor clause. Using this strategy, the administrator of the trust can pay the vendor directly for items or services for the beneficiary without those withdrawn funds counting as income.