"This isn't right": Many BC renters can't get government support for this reason

A Surrey man is calling on the BC and Canadian governments to do more to help struggling renters, especially those who don’t qualify for financial assistance because of their relationship status.

Vincent Nguyen is in his early 30s and pays $1,700 a month for a studio apartment in the Whalley neighbourhood. Money is incredibly tight, and with an income below the $40,000 per year threshold, he would fall within BC’s poverty line and be eligible for the BC Rental Assitance Program (RAP) through BC Housing, except for one thing that disqualifies him: he’s single.

“Rental assistance is a cost-effective, flexible and direct cash subsidy aimed at keeping low-income working families with children and low-income seniors renting in the private market,” the BC government’s website reads in part.

BC Housing

But while Nguyen is working, he’s not a family and therefore isn’t eligible.

That’s something he’s not taking lying down.

“I or anyone else who’s single should be eligible for the Rental Assistance Program because it’s demoralizing to ask people you know for money. For me specifically, I don’t have any friends or family to go to for assistance, but this shouldn’t be the reason why I should be eligible for the RAP,” Nguyen said.

“This isn’t right. Single individuals, man or woman, are left out and I think this program should be looked at and be revised.”

“Our system is predicated on either making a certain amount in order to live on our own or having to live with someone else, like parents or intimate partner or roommates, to make it affordable. So if you prefer your own private space all to yourself and you don’t make a certain income, you’re screwed,” he said.

BC Housing

Nguyen’s past to present living situation

Nguyen hasn’t always lived alone. He told Daily Hive he fled an abusive situation, moved out of his parent’s house two years ago, and reached out for help.

“Everywhere I tried contacting, I would get very generic responses, something along the lines of ‘sorry, we only help women and children; you can try a homeless shelter’ or ‘We’re full right now; you can try somewhere else,'” he said.

“I put off searching for help for several more months and started to think to myself that maybe it’s a society thing where men are supposed to ‘take it like a man,'” he explained.

After contacting several organizations, he finally had a breakthrough with the help of Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS), which offered to be a reference for an apartment that has been his safe space as he looks for more opportunities.

Kara Grubis/Shutterstock

He works part-time at a homeless shelter, but he’s been looking for a second job for more than six months and hasn’t gotten a callback on the jobs that he feels would be a good fit for him. While he does qualify for the recent BC Renter’s Tax Credit and would receive additional benefits and tax breaks due to his income, it’s not enough.

“I don’t think this is fair that only working families are able to receive the rental assistance. It’s basically saying that people like myself who work, never done drugs, never been an alcoholic, never committed a crime, and never done anything to put others in danger aren’t eligible to receive it in order to help our lives,” Nguyen said.

He sees this situation daily in his work at the shelter, and wants to break the stigma associated with it.

“There are people who have homes or a place to live in, but they come to the homeless shelter to get free food and other basic essentials like laundry detergent or clothing donations because they can only afford rent. These are everyday normal people that we’re talking about,” he said.

“Everyone is struggling, not just families, not just singles, not just single parents, not just international students, seniors,” Nguyen added.

Single in the city?

Nguyen’s story is similar to what many in the province are experiencing — one that the government is very aware of, and has been for years. In 2018, the BC government appointed an expert panel to study gaps in BC’s social safety net, and in 2020, the Basic Income Report was published. In it, alarming disparency between income for those in relationships and those who weren’t was clearly outlined.

The poverty rates for ages 18-64 across Canada show that single people, with or without children, have the highest poverty rates, far beyond the levels seen in couples with or without children. In BC, those who are single with no children have similar levels to the national average, per Statistics Canada’s 2016 Census.

The Expert Panel on Basic Income report.

“Within the working age group, the depth of poverty is greatest in single adults, and even greater for the subgroup of single adults aged 18-24, making both groups police targets for us,” the authors of the report found.

But, while several suggestions on how to address these gaps were made, it was predicted to be very costly. Years later, those gaps remain, and people like Nguyen are fighting for acknowledgement.

Gatot Adri/Shutterstock

The BC Ministry of Housing has announced several new housing projects are coming to address the few available living situations for low-income British Columbians. While many are geared toward specific populations, there are a few that single people would be eligible for, depending on their income.

But there’s still a long way to go, and BC Housing admits that the Rental Assistance program, created in 2006, has not kept pace with increased living costs. Even if Nguyen had a child, he would only be eligible for about $50 a month, per our calculations, which is well below what is considered to be the minimum amount given of $323 a month as of 2022.

With average rents sitting at sky-high numbers, that amount is just a drop in the bucket to cover the cost of living.

bchousing.org

“We know more supports are needed, which is why the Province recently invested nearly $11 million in additional funding to BC Rent Bank to continue to help people maintain their homes in times of immediate financial need. This funding has the potential to support as many as 20,000 renters through unforeseen financial challenges,” BC Housing told Daily Hive.

For Nguyen, a change in the eligibility requirements to allow single people to access RAP would be a small step in the right direction. In the meantime, he plans to keep advocating and hopes others take comfort in hearing his story.

“To all the singles out there who are struggling financially, just hang in there. That opportunity might appear one day on your next job hunt, or you might meet someone that will change your life and make your quality of life better,” he said.

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