MORE renters with low to moderate incomes will be able to get financial support as the Province provides additional funding to BC Rent Bank to help people sustain their housing when faced with an unanticipated financial challenge.

“We know that people are feeling the impacts of high rents and inflation, and that’s making it hard for them pay their bills and rent,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing, on Wednesday. “When people are faced with an unanticipated financial challenge, BC Rent Bank is there to help stabilize them. For many people in B.C., this funding can mean the difference between having a safe home or losing it.”

The Province is investing nearly $11 million in additional funding to BC Rent Bank to continue to help people maintain their homes in times of immediate financial need. This funding has the potential to support as many as 20,000 renters through unforeseen financial challenges. BC Rent Bank will extend these funds to regional rent banks that work with renters and provide financial assistance and support services to them.

“Our government has taken strong actions to build increased renter protections and supports throughout the province,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, premier’s liaison for renters and MLA for Vancouver West-End. “This new funding will provide ease and peace of mind for people facing housing disruption due to growing economic demands across various aspects of their lives.”

Rent banks are a resource to prevent evictions, stabilize housing and support renters during unexpected interruptions to income that jeopardize their housing. The interest-free loans can be applied to their rent or essential utilities, or toward a deposit or first month’s rent, for tenants who have secured housing but are unable to pay these requirements.

BC Rent Bank is a project of Vancity Community Foundation and supported by the Government of B.C. It is the agency that provides support and funding to B.C.’s provincewide rent bank network.

Quick Facts:

* The additional funding of $11 million builds on a $10-million investment made by the Province in 2018-19.

* Rent banks provide financial assistance to renters.

* They also provide or co-ordinate connections to other services, such as financial literacy and debt relief, government benefits and housing supports, landlord mediation, physical needs, such as food and clothing, and referrals that support physical, mental and emotional well-being.

* A BC Rent Bank housing survey in 2021 determined that rent-bank assistance increased housing stability and prevented eviction for nearly all rent bank users who responded to the survey.

* B.C became the first province to provide 100% rent-bank coverage throughout the province in 2021.

Learn More:

To find the list of communities that are served by BC Rent Bank, visit: https://bcrentbank.ca/locations/