Canadian Government is giving away free money to renters
The Federal Government of Canada has announced plans to assist low-income renters by providing a $500 one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit.
This was recently announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau amongst several other measures to assist Canadians struggling to meet their monthly expenses.
"The federal government will also provide a $500 top up to the Canada Housing Benefit program. People who currently receive hundreds of dollars in housing benefits each month through the program we introduce and co-fund with provinces and territories can also apply for this additional support," said Trudeau, speaking at St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
"This federal top-up would reach hundreds of thousands of low-income renters, with around 1.8 million Canadians eligible for it”, the prime minister continued.
The benefit would not be available to all Canadians, as specific criteria need to be met to qualify. The below set of criteria is required to qualify for the benefit.
Families earning less than $35 000
Individuals earning less than $20 000
Must be paying rent for a primary residence in Canada, which would include the address of the rental property, the amount of the rent paid in 2022, and the landlord’s contact information
More than 30% of income must be spent on rent
Consent to the Canada Revenue Agency verifying their information to confirm eligibility
Completed 2021 Tax return
Each Province will administer the assistance individually, and the benefit will need to be applied for by each eligible citizen.
The one-time payment would be Tax-free, and the Federal government estimates that 1.8 million Canadians may be eligible; many of those students, who have borne the brunt of increasing rent prices.
The proposal is pending Parliamentary approval, and payouts should take place later this year if approved. The total amount to be paid is estimated at $1.2 Billion in funding and is about $700 Million over the initial 2022 budget of $475 Million.
Rent prices have seen a sharp rise recently, and this, coupled with inflation, has made it challenging to find affordable housing. Rental prices over the last few months have increased approximately 10% from the same period last year.
Toronto for example has seen consecutive rental price increases for the last 6 months, with rent for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit costing just over $2000. The cause of this is said to be companies requiring workers to return to the office, and therefore an influx of people looking for rental units in and around the city centers.
