Rent banks are one part of housing stability and homelessness prevention that helps tenants maintain their housing when times get tough. Rent banks take a holistic approach to housing stability, offering financial assistance and individualized support services to help tenants navigate their way out of the financial challenges that are putting their housing at risk, and towards housing stability.

Rent banks can offer or facilitate access to supports such as financial literacy, debt/credit counselling, landlord-tenant mediation, vocational supports, legal advocacy, counselling, and other services that contribute to financial and housing stability.

BC Rent Bank is a project of Vancity Community Foundation, funded by the Province of B.C. Our mandate is to:

• Support the funding of existing rent banks;
• Provide support and seed funding for the establishment of new rent banks in BC; and,
• Create the infrastructure necessary to support a potential future province-wide rent bank system or service.

Regardless of where you live in the province, you can access a rent bank and its support services to help stabilize your rental housing during unanticipated short-term financial challenges.

BC Rent Bank does not provide financial assistance directly to tenants. We partner with community-based agencies or local non-profit organizations, which operate rent banks in communities around B.C. These organizations provide support to tenants and administer financial assistance directly to landlords or utility companies on behalf of tenants.

Rent banks help to provide housing stability for low- to moderate-income renters who are unable to pay rent or essential utilities due to job loss or other short-term or temporary emergencies that compromise their ability to pay. They are a housing stability and homelessness prevention resource.

The most common uses of rent bank loans are:

• Rent payment or arrears
• Essential utility payment or arrears (essential utilities include hydro and gas)
• Security deposit, pet deposit or first month’s rent for tenants who have recently secured housing

Loans are paid directly to landlords or utility companies on behalf of tenants.

Applicants must apply to the rent bank serving the community where they live. Learn more about how to apply.

Each rent bank is operated independently by a community-based agency or local non-profit organization. Common application criteria for financial assistance include:

• Be 19+ years of age
• Be a current resident of B.C. or be moving to B.C.
• Live or be moving to the community serviced by the local rent bank
• Demonstrate that the financial assistance will stabilize your housing beyond the immediate crisis
• Have the capacity to repay the interest-free loan (regular source of verifiable income)
• Verify that the household is low-to-moderate income
• Experience a temporary or unexpected crisis (ongoing monthly supplements are not needed)

Minimum documents that will be required as part of your application:

• Your tenancy agreement
• Three months of recent bank statements
• Two pieces of identification (ID), including one piece of photo ID

If you meet the rent bank loan criteria, apply online

Rent banks provide interest-free financial assistance, including loans that are to be repaid within six to 24 months. There are often administrative fees, often $1/month, associated with the issuing of loans to cover banking costs but this is not meant to be a barrier for people requiring the service.

It is common practice among rent banks to allow an individual who has taken a loan to postpone or defer their loan payment as long as they contact the rent bank in advance of the monthly repayment date. It is important to note that the automation of loan repayments means the payment will be rejected if there are insufficient funds, resulting in a non-sufficient funds (NSF) charge being applied to the individual by their financial institution. NSF charges typically range between $25 and $50, which can be more than the amount of monthly loan repayments.

• Communities. Housing and health are interrelated. Safe, affordable housing is a building block for the wellbeing of any individual and it costs everyone when people in our communities become unhoused.
• Other Renters. Each time an individual leaves a rental property, the landlord is allowed to increase the rental rate (so while keeping a tenant will not free up a new rental space, reducing rental turn-over helps keep rental prices lower).
• Landlords. Have to absorb the cost of the missed rent payments and, if the tenant is evicted, incur the expenses of finding new tenants.
• Social Service Agencies. Have fewer individuals seeking support from services that are already often at capacity, such as shelters.

While there are some exceptions, most rent banks do not offer grants. However, in B.C., there are some grants available from governments that are specifically to help offset the cost of rent. These grants are available to individuals who meet certain criteria. Examples include:

• The Rental Assistance Program is for working people with low- to moderate-income
• Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) is designed for people who are over 60 years of age who are living on low-incomes in BC.
• The Crisis Supplement is for individuals who are on income assistance, disability assistance or hardship assistance.
• BC Hydro Customer Crisis Grant is for customers how have experienced a temporary financial crisis and cannot afford to pay their utility bill and want to avoid disconnection.

Occasionally, rent banks are able to access outside donor funding that is focused on providing (non repayable) housing grants. In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria rent banks have been offering emergency housing grants and support through federal funding provided by Reaching Home.