Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation

Who We Are

CERA is one of Canada’s oldest not-for-profit charities working to advance the right to adequate housing. Founded in 1987 by a small group of Ontarians who were deeply concerned about discrimination in housing, CERA has worked tirelessly for over thirty years at the intersection of human rights and housing and is one of Canada’s leading NGOs working in the area of social and economic rights. CERA works to advance the right to adequate housing by: 

Serving renters to help them stay housed

CERA provides free services to renters facing eviction and human rights violations in their housing, and we are experts in these fields. Each year we provide services to over a thousand renters and we are highly effective in ensuring that some of the most vulnerable Ontarians remain in their homes. 

Providing education and training about housing rights

CERA provides intensive training sessions on housing rights and human rights in housing to diverse groups across Ontario, reaching approximately 1,000 people annually. We work with community partners to train individuals and communities about their housing rights and how to assert them, and we engage with landlords to educate them about their obligations as housing providers.  

Advancing rights-based housing policy

CERA advances rights-based housing policy through research, policy development, advocacy and litigation. Notable achievements include setting a legal precedent preventing landlords from discriminating against renters who receive social assistance, launching a constitutional challenge against the federal government for failing to take action against homelessness, and coordinating the Right to Housing Toronto Campaign (R2HTO).