Governing Legislation in Landlord and Tenant Law (19:II)
A. Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER)
The SAFER program is a rental assistance program administered by BC Housing. It is intended to help senior citizens (i.e. people over 60). Applicants must be Canadian citizens, authorized to take up permanent residence in Canada, or Convention refugees. Applicants must have lived in B.C. for at least one year prior to applying. An applicant must also be paying over 30 percent of his or her income towards rent. Gross monthly income requirements for Metro Vancouver residents are: single, $2,550; couple, $2,750; shared, $1,776. For those living outside the Metro Vancouver, the rates are: single, $2,223; couple, $2,423; shared, $1,776.
The maximum monthly rent allowed in the SAFER program for a single person in Metro Vancouver is $765 per month (i.e. if you pay any amount higher than $765, SAFER will still assume that $765 is the amount paid), or $825 per month for a couple (rates are lower for those outside Metro Vancouver). The B.C. Housing web site has a calculator program to determine if an applicant will qualify.
Residents of subsidised housing, cooperative housing, and manufactured homes (unless they are renting both the trailer home and the pad) do not qualify for the SAFER program.
More information and application forms are available from B.C. Housing. Application forms are available in English and Chinese. Application forms may be obtained from the B.C. Housing web site at http://www.bchousing.org, or contact:
B.C. Housing
Suite 101 - 4555 Kingsway
Burnaby, B.C. V5H 4V8
Toll-free: 1-800-257-7756
Lower Mainland: 604-433-2218
B. BC Housing Corporation’s Family Rental Assistance Program (RAP)
The Rental Assistance Program provides eligible low-income, working families with at least one dependent child with assistance to help pay their rent. The maximum gross annual household income level is $35,000. A child up to age 25 qualifies as dependant as long as the chid is attending school. A child of any age with mental or physical infirmity is accepted as a dependant.
A rental assistance calculator is available on the RAP website as well as other information and application forms see http://www.bchousing.org/Options/Rental_market/RAP, or contact B.C. Housing (above).
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