“It’s not even a thought:” high rent prices makes home ownership a distant dream for many

Rivard and her fiancé Grant Dempsey are just one of many examples of people across the province struggling with high rent prices. A Royal Lepage report says 1 in 4 British Columbians are putting half their monthly earnings into rent, and this is the case for Rivard and Dempsey. With a monthly rent of $1885, Dempsey’s fulltime job earns him anywhere between $1600-$2000 every two weeks depending on overtime, which sometimes may not even be enough to cover half the rent.

“I have to work as much as possible, I’d work seven days a week if I could. And that sucks. As a father, I can’t see my kids. And as the old saying says, the only person that remembers all that overtime you worked is your kids. But I have no choice,” he said.

“I haven’t gone on vacation for three years now, and, it’s based basically from the past three years with rent being so high,” he continued.

As for Rivard, she’s currently a College of New Caledonia Student and also works part time, and she says her income mainly goes towards groceries and other necessary expenses, so there is little opportunity to save.

“It can be difficult to try and stretch our paycheques so we can save money eventually, buy a home. It makes it really difficult,” she said.

With rent becoming an increasingly large problem, the organization BC Rent Bank is expanding its operations and creating a centre in Prince George to service Northern and Central Interior B.C.

“BC Rent Bank’s mission is to ensure that renters can keep their housing when they’re experiencing a crisis that’s putting their housing at risk without needing to resort to high interest alternatives such as payday loans,” said BC Rent Bank Program Manager Shauna Cornes.

While the new centre won’t be ready until Fall, Cornes notes anyone in the province can still apply for help if needed, so you don’t have to wait. BC Rent Bank offers interest free loans in times of crisis, which could include but is not limited to things like unexpected health bills, car troubles, and more. As for the interest free loans, Cornes says they truly are interest free and there is no catch.

“Loans can be repaid for up to 36 months. So if you take an average loan of $1500 and amortize that over 36 months, we try and make sure that they’re really bite-sized repayments so that we’re not further putting people at risk of losing their housing,” Cornes said.

While the loans are interest free, there are still qualifications that need to be met to be eligible, which are:

You are 19 years old or older, or an emancipated minor
A renter in British Columbia
Experiencing a crisis that has impacted your ability to pay rent or utilities, such as gas, hydro and water
Owing less than $3,500 in rent or utilities
Able to provide proof of income sufficient to cover ongoing monthly living expenses and repay a loan
Part of a low-to-moderate income household
Free from undischarged bankruptcy

As for what “low-to-moderate income” means, Cornes explains it’s different depending on where you live, your living situation, and other factors.

“We use a B.C. housing tool that can be applied across the province. We haven’t received a new index for this year. But in Prince George, for example, a person could be earning between $35,000 and $57,000 to qualify, depending on the number of bedrooms in the unit,” Cornes said.

Beyond the loans, Cornes says rent banks can help with other services too to make paying your bills easier.

“That could look like ensuring that they’re receiving all the benefits that they’re entitled to, helping people to access tax clinics, credit counseling or debt consolidation services, wellness and vocational supports. Really, whatever it is that is supportive of that unique individual to help them maintain their housing into the future,” Cornes said.

While largely provincially funded, Cornes adds fundraising is an essential part of the service BC Rent Bank provides, as the loans are interest free so no profit is made. If you’d like to support the Rent Bank you can do so here, or if you’d like to learn more about BC Rent Bank or apply for a loan yourself, you can visit its website bcrentbank.ca.

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by Tommy Osborne

“It’s not even a thought:” high rent prices makes home ownership a distant dream for many

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