Realtors praise direct rental aid
The B.C. government's landmark plan to pay rental assistance directly to an estimated 15,000 working-poor tenants has won praise from the B.C. Real Estate Association and a provincial landlord organization.
"This is a good start," said BCREA president Kelly Lerigny. "The strategy suggests that the government considered people's diverse housing needs and the unique mix of options available to address them."
The Rental Assistance Program, unveiled last month, allows families who earn less than $20,000 a year and who pay more than 30 per cent of that income for rent, to apply for topping off funds from the province. The family's income cannot be from social assistance.
It is the first such program of its type in Canada.
As an example, a single mother with two children earning $1,666 a month and paying $800 a month in rent in Greater Vancouver could be eligible for about $75 a month in direct cash assistance each month.
The maximum rent levels for a family of three is $825 a month in Greater Vancouver and $675 a month in the rest of the province, regardless of the actual amount of rent being paid.
"We have been lobbying for such a program for a long time,"said Al Kemp, of the Victoria-based Rental Owners and Managers Association of B.C. Kemp said the program would enable some low-income tenants to afford to stay in their apartments and give others the flexibility to move to other areas in B.C., with better job opportunities.
Kemp dismissed suggestions that landlords may simply raise rents to match the government largesse. "Landlords would have no idea who is being paid the subsidy," he noted.
The Schacter Team - Langley Real Estate