Retirement Home vs Long-Term Care in Ontario, and the Option Families Often Forget

In Ontario, a nursing home and a long-term care home are the same thing. It is a home licensed by the province, where the government pays for 24-hour nursing and personal care and you pay a capped fee for the room. A retirement home is something else. It is private housing that you rent, with care you buy, and the government does not fund it.

The difference decides who pays, how you get in, and how much care is there at 3 a.m. Families often face the choice in a hurry, after a fall, a hospital stay or a new diagnosis. If a hospital stay is what started this, our guide to convalescent care after a hospital stay covers the short-term recovery options first.

This post sets the options side by side, using the Government of Ontario, the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority and Ontario Health atHome as sources. It also covers the option many families skip: staying home, with care that comes to you.

What is the difference between a nursing home and a retirement home?

A nursing home, which Ontario calls a long-term care home, gives 24-hour nursing and personal care, and the province pays for that care. A retirement home is a private rental building where you buy the services you want. The Government of Ontario says retirement homes do not provide 24-hour nursing care, and it does not fund them.

The Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA), which licenses retirement homes, puts it plainly: "Long-term care homes, often called nursing homes, are different from retirement homes."

A retirement home is housing with services. A long-term care home is care with housing. A retirement home suits someone who wants meals, company and help with some daily tasks. Long-term care is for someone who needs nursing care on site, around the clock or many times a day, and a care coordinator has to confirm that need.

Retirement home, long-term care or home care: the side-by-side

Here are the three main options in Ontario on one page: who runs each one, who checks it, who pays, how you get in, and how much care you can expect. Every line comes from the Government of Ontario, the RHRA or Ontario Health atHome, checked October 26, 2026.

Sources: Government of Ontario ("Explore your care options", "Find a retirement home", "Apply for long-term care", "Paying for long-term care", "Home and community care"), the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority, Ontario Health atHome, and the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021. Checked October 26, 2026.

In Ontario, a nursing home and a long-term care home are the same thing, and the province pays for the care. A retirement home is private housing, and you pay the rent and for any care you buy there.

Ontario Health atHome is the provincial agency that runs publicly funded home care and the application process for long-term care. If you remember calling the LHIN, it is the same service under a new name.

What is a retirement home in Ontario?

A retirement home is a privately owned rental building, lived in mainly by people aged 65 and up, that offers at least two of 13 care services the law lists, such as meals, help with bathing or dressing, and giving medication. You rent your suite and pay extra for the care you choose. The RHRA licenses and inspects every home.

The Government of Ontario says plainly: "The government does not fund retirement homes." You pay rent, plus a fee for each care service you buy.

The care on offer changes from home to home. One may offer only meals and help with bathing; another may have a dementia care program. You choose which services to buy.

A few rules protect you as a resident:

• You are a tenant. You sign a tenancy agreement, and Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 covers you.
• Prices must be easy to get. Ontario says each home should have an itemized list of its rooms and care services, with prices, ready for anyone who asks.
• Increases need notice. The yearly rent increase guideline covers only the rent part of your bill, not care or meals. The home must give at least 90 days' written notice before it raises the rent, and at least 90 days' notice before it raises a charge for care or meals.
• No one caps the price. The RHRA "does not have authority to set or limit fees for rent or care services."

Before you visit, search the RHRA's public Retirement Home Database. It lists every licensed home, the care services it offers, and its inspection findings and any enforcement action. You can also call the RHRA at 1-855-275-7472.

Moving into a retirement home does not cut you off from public care. Ontario says residents "may arrange to receive publicly funded care," such as home care visits, or pay an outside provider.

What is a long-term care home in Ontario?

A long-term care home is a licensed home for adults who need nursing care on site, either around the clock or many times a day. The province funds the nursing and personal care. Homes run under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021. The Ministry of Long-Term Care licenses or approves each home and inspects it. Most people still call them nursing homes.

Long-term care homes give much more care than retirement homes. The Government of Ontario lists help with most or all daily activities, access to 24-hour nursing and personal care, a care plan reviewed every three months, meals including special diets, medical services, and social and recreational programs.

The law backs this up. Under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021, a registered nurse who works for the home must be on duty and in the home at all times, with narrow exceptions set out in the regulations. Every home must be inspected at least once a year, and the inspector does not give notice.

Homes are run by municipalities, non-profit groups and private companies. The care rules and the maximum fees are the same for all of them.

Who pays for long-term care in Ontario?

The Government of Ontario pays for the nursing and personal care in a long-term care home. You pay a co-payment for your room and meals, and the province sets the maximum. Since July 1, 2026, a basic room costs up to $2,129.17 a month, semi-private up to $2,567.17 and private up to $3,041.97.

In the province's own words: "The Ontario government will pay for your personal and nursing care in a long-term care home. You must pay for accommodation charges, such as room and board."

The level of care is the same whatever room you choose. The room type changes only the price of the room.

If the basic fee is too much, Ontario's rate reduction can lower it based on income. It applies only to basic rooms. Our post on long-term care fees, the rate reduction and what happens to the family home walks through the formula with an example.

A retirement home has no set price. Each home sets its own rent and care fees, so the only way to compare is to ask each home for its itemized list. For how those costs stack up against care at home, see our breakdown of home care versus retirement home costs.

How do you get into long-term care, and how do you get into a retirement home?

For a retirement home, you apply directly to the home, and it assesses whether it can meet your needs. For long-term care, you apply through Ontario Health atHome. A care coordinator checks that you are eligible, you choose up to five homes, and you wait for a bed. Wait times vary widely.

Getting into a retirement home works much like renting an apartment. Visit, ask for the application form and the price list, and apply to the home. There are no government eligibility rules, though some homes set a minimum age. The home will assess you to make sure it can give you the support you need.

Getting into long-term care has more steps. To be eligible, a person must:

• Be at least 18 and insured under OHIP.
• Need one of these: nursing care available on site 24 hours a day, help with daily activities at frequent intervals through the day, or supervision at frequent intervals for their safety.
• Have needs that publicly funded community services and other help available to them cannot meet, in any combination.
• Have care needs that a long-term care home can meet.

Then the process runs like this:

1. Call Ontario Health atHome at 1-833-515-1234. If the person is in hospital, the hospital has its own Ontario Health atHome care coordinator. Start there.
2. Meet with a care coordinator. They complete most of the application, usually in person, and assess the person's needs.
3. Choose up to five homes, in order of preference. If a care coordinator assesses the person as needing immediate admission because of a crisis, the five-home limit does not apply.
4. Wait for an offer. When a bed opens, you have 24 hours to accept or refuse, and up to five days to move in.

One rule catches families off guard. If you refuse an offer, you come off every wait list you are on, and you must wait 12 weeks to apply again unless your condition or circumstances change significantly. So choose only homes you would truly accept.

While you wait, Ontario says you may be able to stay home with support, such as personal support worker visits or community paramedicine.

What is assisted living in Ontario?

Ontario licenses two kinds of seniors' care homes: retirement homes and long-term care homes. Ontario has no separate licence for "assisted living." When the province uses the words, it means Assisted Living Services, a publicly funded home care program for people who need more help than scheduled visits give, but not the 24/7 nursing of long-term care.

This is where a lot of confusion starts. Many retirement homes use "assisted living" for their care floors or suites. That is a retirement home with more care services included, and the retirement home rules above apply. So ask each home exactly which care services the price covers, and how many hours of help that means.

Assisted Living Services, the public program, is different. Ontario says it is most often provided in supportive housing, apartment buildings or areas where clients live close together. It serves seniors with complex needs, and also adults aged 16 and up with a physical disability or an acquired brain injury. It can include:

• Personal support, such as help with bathing, dressing and hygiene.
• Light housekeeping, laundry and meal preparation.
• Security checks and reassurance calls, by phone or in person.
• Care coordination with other services.

The help can come on a schedule or when it is needed. The Ministry of Health funds the program through Ontario Health. It is not offered everywhere, so ask a care coordinator what exists near you.

The fourth option: staying home with support

Many people who are thinking about a move can stay home instead, with publicly funded home care. Ontario says, "If you qualify, the Ontario government pays for home care." A care coordinator from Ontario Health atHome assesses your needs and arranges the visits.

Home care in Ontario can include:

• Nursing visits.
• Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
• Personal support, such as help with bathing, dressing and eating.
• Homemaking, such as cleaning and laundry.
• Social work and help with healthy eating.
• End-of-life care.

Anyone in Ontario with a valid OHIP card can ask for an assessment, at any age. Some community services, such as adult day programs, charge a fee. You can also add private care that you pay for yourself.

Home care brings visits, not someone there all day. Our guide to who qualifies for free home care in Ontario explains the assessment, the hours and what to do if the hours are not enough.

For the time between visits, it helps to have a plan of your own: a daily check-in call, a neighbour with a key, safer stairs and bathrooms. Some families also add a medical alert button for those hours. Our guide to who answers when you press a medical alert button explains how the monitoring side works.

How do you know which option fits?

Start with the care need, not the building. If someone needs nursing care on site around the clock, long-term care is the option designed for it. If they mainly want meals, company and some daily help, a retirement home or home care may fit. A care coordinator from Ontario Health atHome can assess the need.

These questions help sort it out:

• How often is help needed? As a rough guide, a few times a week points to home care. Several times a day points to a retirement home with care services, Assisted Living Services, or long-term care. Around the clock, with nursing, points to long-term care.
• Is the need for nursing, or for daily tasks? Retirement homes do not provide 24-hour nursing care.
• What does the budget allow? Long-term care has a capped co-payment and a rate reduction. A retirement home's price is set by the home, with no public funding.
• How long can you wait? With a retirement home, you deal with the home directly, so timing depends on its vacancies. Long-term care has wait lists, and wait times vary widely.
• What does your parent want? Staying home is often the first wish. Ask before you plan, and plan together.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a retirement home in Ontario?

There is no standard price. Each retirement home sets its own rent and care fees, and Ontario does not fund or cap them, so ask each home for its itemized price list and compare what the base rent includes.

Who qualifies for assisted living in Ontario?

For the public Assisted Living Services program, Ontario Health atHome says people with a valid Ontario health card who have complex needs that require personal support may be eligible. Groups served include seniors with complex care needs. A care coordinator assesses eligibility. Call Ontario Health atHome at 1-833-515-1234 to ask what is offered in your area.

What age can you move into a retirement home in Ontario?

Ontario sets no age rule for living in a retirement home. The law defines a retirement home as a building lived in mainly by people aged 65 and up, and a home can set its own minimum age. The home will also assess you to confirm it can meet your care needs.

Does OHIP pay for a retirement home?

No. The Government of Ontario says it does not fund retirement homes, so residents pay rent and care fees themselves. Living in one does not end your public health coverage, though. Ontario says retirement home residents may still arrange to receive publicly funded care, such as home care visits.

Start with one phone call

You do not have to pick an option before you get help. One call to Ontario Health atHome at 1-833-515-1234 starts an assessment. The answer may turn out to be home care, Assisted Living Services or long-term care. If a retirement home is on the list, look it up in the RHRA's Retirement Home Database before you visit. Bring the questions above. Then talk it through with the person who will live with the choice.