Changes to rent subsidy program falling short, B.C. seniors say
Changes to a provincial rent subsidy program for low-income seniors don’t go far enough, say seniors and service providers who support them.
Victoria’s Doreen Gee, 73, who recently received her one-time “top-up” of $430 from B.C. Housing, said there are still “systemic problems” with the program that need to be addressed.
“I’m happy to get the $400. That’s a lot of money to me,” Gee said. “But it’s not making my housing more affordable.”
Gee, a writer, said despite changes to the subsidy program, SAFER — Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters — a number of barriers, including unrealistic rental caps and a difficult application process, mean the program is less effective than it should be.
She said she hasn’t yet heard what changes, if any, will be applied to her current monthly subsidy.
In Victoria, the maximum rent that goes into determining Gee’s monthly subsidy is capped at $767. The average rent for a onebedroom apartment in Victoria last April was $2,100, according to rentals.ca.
This year, Gee received a subsidy of a little over $250 a month.
“If I went out now and tried to rent a place, SAFER wouldn’t even help at all,” Gee said. “The only reason I’m not homeless right now is because I’m in the same place I was in 17 years ago, so my rents have not gone up a lot.”
Rent ceilings for subsidies for a single senior currently range from $734 to $803, depending on what part of the province the person lives in.
Alison Silgardo, CEO of the Seniors Services Society of B.C., said the one-time payment would help “with an extra bill” but didn’t address core problems with the program.
“It’s a nice thing to have, but people are critically in need of sustainable income,” Silgardo said.
The changes to the program, announced by the province in April, included a onetime “top-up” payment of $430, as well as increases in monthly benefits, income eligibility and rent ceilings.
The changes will allow roughly 4,800 more seniors to qualify for the program, and existing recipients will see an increase of approximately $110 per month, Housing Ministry spokesman Travis Paterson wrote in an email. He said the maximum rent ceiling would be increased to 65 per cent of the provincial average for a one-bedroom unit, increasing the rent ceiling to $931 provincewide.
Average rents for SAFER recipients are based on Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp. data, which reflect what households in a region spend on average on rental housing. That includes long-term renters such as Gee, which can make CMHC figures considerably lower than current market rents.
According to the latest CMHC housing report, from January 2024, the average rent for a one-bedroom unit in Victoria was about $1,500, which is $600 less than rents reported at rentals.ca, which are based on current market rates for vacant units.
“The SAFER rent ceilings have not been increased to align with the actual costs in the rental market,” said Ian Gerbrandt, executive director of Seniors Outreach & Resource Centre in Kelowna. “So, B.C. Housing continues to use an unkind calculator to determine a senior’s monthly subsidy.”
Gerbrandt said SAFER would help more people if it operated like Canada’s Guaranteed Income Supplement, which is indexed to inflation and doesn’t require recipients to reapply every year, like SAFER.
After an initial application the Guaranteed Income Supplement bases future decisions on eligibility and subsidy amounts on annual income tax filings.