B.C. increases funding for leaky condo owners

British Columbia is pumping more money into its Home Protection Office (HPO) in a bid to help owners of water-damaged homes pay for repairs.

The Province is providing close to $9 million in additional funding to the HPO Reconstruction Program, the B.C. Ministry of Housing and Social Development said on Friday.

As a result, the HPO now has the borrowing capacity to resume dispersing funds for approved loans, the ministry said.

The announcement on Friday comes after eight Victoria residents complained that they were left with a bill they can't pay and a home they might lose.

Half of the owners in a condominium complex called "The Swans" said they simply couldn't afford to cough up $80,000 each to cover the cost of leaky condo repairs.

The HPO attributed its problems to the economic downturn, which has slowed the rate of residential construction. As a result, the levy that funds the reconstruction program has also shrunk, the ministry said.

Related links: B.C. Ministry of Housing

The provincial government established the HPO 10 years ago, during the height of the leaky condo crisis, to support home owners and to put in place protection for new home buyers.

Through the Reconstruction Program, B.C. has approved more than $670 million in no-interest loans to help more than 16,000 households with repairs to leaky homes.

The Province has also provided $23 million in provincial sales tax rebates on repairs.