Housing might be a fundamental need for everybody, but many people looking to rent find the door slammed in their face. A local charity that works with both service and housing providers is offering a course where people can learn how to find and maintain housing, tackling homelessness in a preventive way.
Ready to Rent B.C. offers a six-week course that sheds light on what landlords look for in a tenant, issues that affect people’s ability to get housing, legal rights and responsibilities of both parties, money management, communication skills and more.
“Everybody aspires to have a place they call home,” said Amy Jaarsma, chairwoman of the organization. “But some people have never been taught the basics of renting. We try to help them understand, in a supportive environment, what is expected of them and how to demonstrate to landlords that they make good tenants.”
She said many of her clients have either never rented before or have rented and have been evicted, making it difficult to find landlords willing to give them a second chance.
Clients include First Nations youth or young adults looking for housing for the first time off the reserve, women fleeing abusive relationships, people with mental- health issues, new immigrants and refugees. For various reasons, these clients haven’t chosen or are not eligible for social housing.
“We teach them about how the residential tenancy legislation works and how to compile a portfolio to take to landlords,” Jaarsma said.
The course also teaches people how to access community resource agencies, support systems and housing providers.
Clients who take the Ready to Rent course, with a weekly one-on-one two-hour session for six weeks, graduate with a certificate recognized by some housing providers. The course has produced more than 800 graduates in the last three years. Contributors to the course include B.C. Housing, the Victoria Foundation and others.
“The certificate is a way of saying the person has learned and taken responsibility for their actions, giving landlords the confidence to rent to them,” Jaarsma said.