The temporary rental supplement (TRS) issued by the BC Government earlier this spring will be around until the end of August.
The province is also maintaining the moratorium on rent increases and evictions for non-payment of rent while enabling other notices to end tenancy to resume.
Selina Robinson is the Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs…
“We know that renters and landlords have been in a very difficult position especially those who have lost their jobs or have severely diminished income and how to pay rent and for landlords to pay their bills. Given where we are at, we felt it was necessary to extend the program a couple more months.”
People already approved for the TRS do not need to reapply.
They will receive an email asking them to confirm they plan to live at the same address through July and August.
New applications will also be accepted until August 31.
Between April 9 and June 15, BC Housing received more than 90,000 applications for the rental supplement.
The total confirmed eligible applications were nearly 82,500.
“What we have learned is that over 80% of tenants in BC are paying full rent or have been paying full rent and 12% have been paying partial rent. What that tells me is that British Columbians have been doing the right thing where they can pay rent they are doing just that and for those that aren’t they are doing the best they can,” added Robinson.
The TRS program provides $500 per month for eligible households with dependents and $300 per month for eligible households with no dependents.
The moratorium on evictions in BC has been in effect since March 30 and will continue for non-payment of rent.
However, the ban on evictions for reasons other than unpaid rent will be lifted later this month.