B.C.’s housing critic says the province’s temporary rental supplement – while helpful – is failing to help out many British Columbians.
Kamloops – South Thompson MLA Todd Stone says there are some very strict guidelines for people to qualify for the subsidy, some of which don’t make sense.
“There’s a condition that an applicant’s income from the previous year is used to decide whether they qualify for the supplement,” he said. “You know this means that if you’ve got no income coming in, you’re out of luck to receive any support from this program because you had a job a year ago that paid you more than the maximum household income permitted.”
“That makes no sense.”
Stone says the process is time-consuming, noting that some people still haven’t heard back on the status of their application.
“It’s an online multi-step process that requires extensive documentation. Then there is a verification process, this can all take many, many days,” Stone added. “Other people don’t have internet access so they phone the 1-800 number. We’re hearing that number is jammed big chunks of the day, and calls are being dropped.”
He notes B.C.’s program should be like the Federal Government’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which takes just a couple of minutes to apply for.
“It takes about two minutes online, four simple questions, and you’ll have the $2,000 in your bank account within about 48 hours after applying. That’s the contrast,” Stone said.
Stone says renters were led to believe they’d be getting $500 a month, but instead its just $300 for households with no dependents, and $500 a month for households with dependents. As well, he says under the current rules, two roommates can each apply and get $600 per month for their ‘household’, while a family of four will only be eligible for $500 per month.
“What we are saying is, good intentions with the rental supplement program provincially, but the program in terms of how the application process works and some of the eligibility requirements, it needs to be retooled,” added Stone.
