B.C. government invests $11 million in provincial rent bank

The British Columbia government announced Wednesday it will provide $11 million in additional funding to the provincial rent bank to help people who are struggling to make rental payments.

The money could support as many as 20,000 renters who are facing financial challenges, according to Melissa Giles, the managing director at BC Rent Bank.

“It’s there to help people at a time of need and make sure they do stay housed,” said Giles. “It’s the end of the month, people are facing a crisis, they’re stressed.”

In a 2021 study by done by BC Rent Bank, 61 per cent of respondents said they would have been homeless if it weren’t for the supports offered by the bank.

“A lot of people who access the rent bank have not had to access social services before so they’re not even sure how to navigate some of these systems that have been created,” said Giles.

The money will be dispersed to regional rent banks who provide interest-free loans, according to its website.

The money can be applied to rent, essential utilities, or toward a deposit or first month's rent, for tenants who have secured housing but are unable to pay these requirements.

Renters have up to three years to be able to repay the loan.

The Rent Bank started in 2019 with seven banks throughout the province, and now there are 18 of these banks in B.C.

“We saw about 80 to 100 applications come in a month (in 2019) and this year we’re averaging almost 500,” said Giles.

B.C became the first province to provide 100 per cent rent-bank coverage province-wide in 2021.

“Rent banks are about preventing homelessness and that’s about keeping people in their units,” said MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert, the premier’s liaison for renters. “This will help make sure they don’t end up homeless, to make sure the rent gets paid and to make sure they can get into housing.”

Chandra Herbert, who helped found a rent bank in his constituent office years ago, calls Wednesday’s investment a proactive approach.

B.C.’s 18 rent banks helped roughly 11,000 people last year make sure they could make their rent payment.