Rockcliffe No Fault Grant for Basement Flooding Damages Program (2024)

The Rockcliffe area is located in the Black Creek floodplain and is one of 10 Special Policy Areas in Toronto’s Official Plan. Areas are designated as Special Policy Areas to regulate development and mitigate flooding from local waterways. During storm events, high water levels in Black Creek, in combination with excess rain runoff from local roads and other hard surfaces, can overload the sewer system. This increases pressure on the sewer system, which can lead to basement flooding.

The Environmental Assessment (EA) for Basement Flooding in the Rockcliffe area was completed in 2014. It identified the causes of basement and surface flooding and made recommendations to reduce future sewer system flooding and combined sewer overflow discharges to Black Creek.

Several Basement Flooding Protection Program solutions have been recommended, including replacing some existing storm and combined sewers, installing new storm and sanitary sewers and installing a new storm trunk sewer to a new outfall to Black Creek.

In 2020, the TRCA, in collaboration with the City, completed a Flood Remediation and Transportation Feasibility Study for the Rockcliffe Special Policy Area (Feasibility Study) with funding from the National Disaster Mitigation Program. This Feasibility Study proposed a range of riverine flooding infrastructure solutions for the Black Creek watercourse within the Rockcliffe area.

The preferred solution was endorsed by City Council in June 2022. The Environmental Study Report was completed and posted in February 2023.

The program provides a grant for uninsured property basement flooding damage caused directly and entirely by a Storm Event, referred to as a No Fault Grant, to eligible applicants, as determined by the City, subject to and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the program.

Uninsured property basement flooding damage means damage to the building or its contents owned by the owner(s) of the property but not covered by insurance as determined by the City and/or its insurance adjusters under the program. Under the program:

• The maximum amount of the No Fault Grant is $7,500 in respect to a Storm Event. The amount of the No Fault Grant may be less.
• Only specific properties on certain streets in Rockcliffe can apply for the grant. If residents want to find out if their property is eligible, they can call 311 or email nofaultgrant@toronto.ca.
• The No Fault Grant is available to eligible applicants on a recurring basis, as determined by the City. This means that an eligible applicant may be able to apply for and to receive a No Fault Grant for each occurrence of a Storm Event in respect of a property to which the Program applies, as may be applicable.
• At the time of the Storm Event, the applicant was a registered legal owner of a single family residential dwelling or multi-family residential dwelling consisting of either a duplex, triplex or fourplex property, verified by the municipal assessment roll determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPEC), located within the Rockcliffe Special Policy Area and hydraulically connected sewer catchment, where beneficial works have been identified by a completed Basement Flooding Environmental Assessment Study but the work is not yet commissioned.
• Once the beneficial works identified by a completed Basement Flooding Environmental Assessment Study are commissioned, eligibility for the No Fault Grant will terminate and the Program will end, unless earlier terminated or cancelled.
• The City may change the terms and conditions of the program at any time, without notice. The City may also cancel the program at any time and for any reason, without notice.

Storm Event

A Storm Event is an intense and sustained precipitation (rain and/or snow) that:

• exceeds the design capacity of local sewers and/or trunk sewers;
• results in a sudden and significant increase in customer service calls reported to 311 of basement flooding and/or blocked sewer service lines, and;
• results in Water Service Technicians from the City being unable to meet the standard four-hour customer service response time to investigate basement flooding and/or blocked sewer service lines due to a sudden increase in customer service calls to 311. Depending where in the city the rain fell during a Storm Event, the calls may be localized, include multiple distinct areas of the city, or can be city-wide (“Storm Event”).

In order to be eligible to apply for and receive a No Fault Grant under the Program, an applicant must meet all Program eligibility criteria, and must agree to be bound by any and all terms and conditions required by the City.

To qualify as an eligible applicant and establish eligibility for the program, an applicant must meet all of the following conditions:

• The applicant is a resident of Toronto
• At the time of the Storm Event, the applicant was a registered legal owner of a single-family residential dwelling or a multi-family residential dwelling consisting of either a duplex, triplex or fourplex property, verified by the municipal assessment roll determined by MPAC, located within the Rockcliffe Special Policy Area and hydraulically-connected sewer catchment, where beneficial works have been identified by a completed Basement Flooding Environmental Assessment Study but the work is not yet commissioned;
• The applicant sustained uninsured property basement flooding damage caused directly and entirely by the Storm Event;
• The City has not been able to determine, at the time it considered the applicant’s application under the Program, that the uninsured property basement flooding damage was caused by the act or omission of the applicant or a third party;
• The applicant reported the property basement flooding damage to the City through 311 as a result of a Storm Event, and a Water Service Technician from the City attended the property as a result of the applicant’s call to 311 and verified the basement flooding;
• The applicant has made a successful application under the Program for the No Fault Grant in accordance with the Program terms and conditions;
• The applicant has properly completed and submitted any application, forms, information or documentation and provided any consents, attestations and/or declarations required under the Program;
• Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the applicant has consented, as may be applicable, to the following:
  • to the collection of personal information for the Program;
  • to the indirect collection and use of personal information for the purposes of the Program; and
  • to the sharing of information, including personal information, by and between the City, its divisions, its staff, and the City’s insurance adjusters, and any other instances where the City may be required by law to share the information;

• The applicant has consented and agreed to provide the City, and its personnel, including the City’s insurance adjusters, access to their residential property (which is the subject of the application under the Program) to verify any and all information in relation to the program application submitted, if necessary;
• The applicant’s proper and complete application under the program must have been submitted and received by the City within two years of the date of the Storm Event; and
• The applicant agrees to notify the City in writing of any change in circumstances which would affect their status as a person eligible to apply for and to receive the No Fault Grant.

The eligibility for, and payment of, any No Fault Grant under the Program is based on the City providing financial assistance relief on compassionate grounds and the applicant, as a condition of eligibility, acknowledges and agrees that the provision of the financial assistance by the City shall not be construed as an admission on the part of the City of any legal liability or fault for any damages the applicant may claim to have sustained as a result of or arising from the Storm Event or any acts or omissions of the City.

Any eligibility assessment and/or any determination as to entitlement made by the City in the context of the applicant’s application under the program, including without limitation the City Decision or a Reconsideration Request, is without prejudice to the position the City may take or any argument in respect of liability and/or damages that the City may advance in the context of any formal claim, civil action, or other proceeding in which the applicant, or someone on their behalf, seeks compensation or any other form of relief in respect of the flooding incident that is the subject of the program application.

Application Process

To apply, please complete the program application in full.

Completed applications must be submitted to the City by email to nofaultgrant@toronto.ca or by mail to:

Rockcliffe No Fault Grant for Basement Flooding Damages Program
City of Toronto
PO Box 15266 STN B RM B
Toronto, ON M7Y 2W1

Incomplete Applications

If a program application is incomplete, it will not be processed by the City and will be returned to the applicant.

When returned, the City will request that the applicant complete and/or provide any missing information before the two year limitation to submit a proper and complete application which must be received by the City.

Application Requirements

An application under the program for the No Fault Grant must:

• Be made by only one registered legal owner of the residential property which is the subject property of the application under the Program per Storm Event;
• Be complete, in a form prescribed by the General Manager and must be submitted to the City and received by the City;
• Provide the information required by the form prescribed by the General Manager and including any supporting documentation that the General Manager and/or the City’s insurance adjusters may require to establish that the applicant is eligible to receive the No Fault Grant, including any supporting damages to establish the amount of the No Fault Grant, if any, to which the applicant may be eligible.
• Provide any consents, attestations and/or declarations as may be required by the General Manager.
• Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the application must include the following:
  • The name and address of the registered legal owner;
  • The residential address of the property where the basement flooding damages occurred as a result of the Storm Event;
  • Property and insurance information as required by the General Manager. If the applicant has home/property insurance, a letter from the applicant’s insurance company that details the nature of damage or loss, and the reason why the damage or loss was not covered by the property owner’s insurance. If the applicant does not have home/property insurance, the applicant must provide a signed attestation that they do not have insurance, in a form prescribed by and acceptable to the General Manager.
  • Basement flooding damage information as required by the General Manager;
  • Information related to the call to 311 reporting the flooding as a result of the Storm Event, and the Water Service Technician from the City’s inspection verifying the flooding as required by the General Manager; and
  • Evidence that the basement was damaged by flooding from a Storm Event, including copies of all receipts, invoices, estimates, valuations, appraisals, and related documentation including, without limitation, any photographs or videos.

The applicant is required to certify in their application under the Program that the information, statements and representations they make to the City in connection with the Program, including the application, are true, accurate and complete in all respects. If any incorrect, false or deceptive information, statement or representation is found in the program application, accompanying documents or information the applicant supplied to the City, the City will be entitled to:

1. 1. Reject the application, and any subsequent application, as the applicant will cease to be eligible thereafter to make an application;
   2. Revoke any approval of the application and/or the No Fault Grant;
   3. Demand full and immediate repayment of any No Fault Grant paid to the applicant; or
   4. Take any other legal action that might be available to the City.

• Applications that meet the eligibility requirements are forwarded to the City’s independent insurance adjuster who will make a recommendation to the City regarding the amount of the No Fault Grant. They may contact applicants to verify the application information submitted, to request additional information or request to visit the property.
• The City will notify the applicant in writing of its decision regarding the Program application, whether the application is approved or denied.
• The City estimates that the program application process could take approximately four to six months and will be dependent on a number of factors including the complexity of the application. This is an estimate only and may vary.
• If the application is approved and processed by the City, the No Fault Grant will be payed in the form of a cheque issued to the eligible applicant.

Reconsideration Requests

Under the program, an applicant may request a reconsideration of the City’s decision within 60 days from the date of the City Decision. A Reconsideration Request can only be made to ask the City to reconsider its decision as to:

1. 1. The applicant’s eligibility for the No Fault Grant; or
   2. the amount of the No Fault Grant.

A Reconsideration Request must be in writing by email to nofaultgrant@toronto.ca, or by mail to:
Rockcliffe No Fault Grant for Basement Flooding Damages Program
City of Toronto
PO Box 15266 STN B RM B
Toronto, ON M7Y 2W1

The City will notify the applicant, who submitted a Reconsideration Request, in writing of the final decision made by the General Manager, Toronto Water, whose decisions will be final.

Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program

The City offers owners of single-family, duplex, triplex and fourplex residential homes a subsidy of up to $3,400 per property to install flood protection devices.

Basement Flooding Protection Program

The City is taking steps to stop the overloading of the sewer system and reduce basement flooding.

Mandatory Downspout Disconnection

Disconnecting downspouts from the sewer system is mandatory. It can reduce the risk of basement flooding and releasing polluted rainwater into our local waterways.

Preventative Maintenance

The City regularly inspects, cleans and maintains the sewer system to ensure it is in good working order.