The B.C. Green Party is urging the province to expand eligibility of existing rental support programs to help alleviate the “deepening crisis” facing renters.
“People who rent in B.C. are facing a deepening crisis, and they need more support from this government,” said Green Leader Sonia Furstenau. “The B.C. Greens are calling on the B.C. NDP government to raise income caps for existing assistance programs and to implement rental rate protection.
“This is not just policy, it’s a lifeline,” she added. “It’s time to shift the focus from housing as a commodity to housing as a right. Every British Columbian deserves to have a secure and affordable home.”
Furstenau’s party is seeking immediate increases to the income caps for the province’s rental assistance program and shelter aid for elderly renters, also known as SAFER.
Currently, the rental assistance program has a household income limit of $40,000 or less to qualify for aid; the Greens are asking for that to be bumped up to $70,000.
The SAFER program has a single income limit of $30,600 and a couple income limit of $33,000 in the Lower Mainland, and single income limit of $29,352 and a couple income limit of $31,992 elsewhere in the province. The Greens would like the limits increased to $45,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a couple, regardless of location within B.C.
To fund the added rental support, the party is suggesting doubling the current provincial budget for rental assistance program from $164 million to $338 million for the 2024-25 year.
Another tool that could help renters is the introduction of rental rate protection to limit or prevent dramatic rent increases in between tenancies, such as what’s in place to limit annual rent increases during a tenancy.
“While the B.C. NDP government has focused mainly on the goal of increasing the supply of housing for homebuyers, they have proven unwilling to take meaningful steps to ensure renters in British Columbia have a secure and affordable place to live,” said Adam Olsen, Green MLA for Saanich North and the Islands.
During a news conference Tuesday, Olsen said that while there are a number of measures in place to help owners such as the homeowners grant, he said the hope was that aid could also be increased for renters to “provide some greater balance for those who are renting in this province.”
“The homeowners grant is yet another example of how the provincial government’s policies have been dramatically weighted toward homeowners,” he said.
