in transitional housing that fully met their ongoing needs, but still had no security or certainty because the housing could not be made permanent. “At one point there were almost 300 vacancies in transitional housing, but HUD wouldn’t permit them to be used for permanent housing. They said the specs aren’t right for permanent housing, even though we know people will often stay for years in transitional housing so how different can it be?” [Transitional housing provider with significant background in social services] These families knew they might live for years in transitional housing while waiting for alternatives such as public housing, but were simultaneously aware that the provider or the system could relocate them at any time. Eviction processes We heard multiple complaints and concerns from residents or former residents about short-notice evictions from both emergency accommodation and transitional housing, including some instances of same-day evictions. Some people who contacted us expressed distress at being required to find alternative accommodation with only one day’s notice. In some cases, people shared their frustration with providers who took a zero-tolerance approach to any broken rules or arguments with staff and responded with immediate eviction notices instead of trying to de-escalate the situation. “[After a verbal altercation] the provider said they would come back with an eviction notice. [My family member] went to pick up their children from school and when they returned home with the kids, two of the [provider staff] were in the house throwing all of [my family member’s] and children’s belongings into a pile in the middle of the floor like rubbish. In massive shock [my 30 Human Rights Commission family member] asked what the hell was going on and told them to get out of their home, then the staff told them they were evicted immediately and the police were called. At the end of the day the children were traumatized by all of this happening in front of them. One child was found under their bed shaking and crying, scared of what was happening.’ [Family member of resident in transitional housing] We acknowledge, as do some people we spoke with, the need for motels and other housing providers to have a way to quickly address serious safety issues. Service providers deserve to be treated with respect and to put boundaries in place where clients are abusive or repeatedly breaking rules. However, in some situations emergency housing system tenants felt they were being evicted only because they had made complaints about the standards of living. We heard from multiple people that there were almost never processes to appeal an eviction of this kind. Some providers, both in transitional housing and emergency accommodation services, also raised concerns about zero tolerance approaches. Some emergency providers noted it was particularly important to make sure clients weren’t being evicted with nowhere to go, as this would likely result in street homelessness. “Some providers, they’ll find someone smoking in their room or shouting at the receptionist and they’ll get evicted straight away with no second chance. They have no process regarding warnings.” [Former transitional housing provider] These providers acknowledged that many people in the emergency housing system do have complex