- Under 19 years of age; or
- Under 25 years of age and registered in full-time school, university or vocational institute which provides a recognized diploma, certificate, or degree; or
- Of any age who, because of mental or physical infirmity, is accepted as a dependent for income tax purposes.
- Please note: In The Housing Registry, some providers may have different criteria about what constitutes a dependent child.
*Some housing providers using the Housing Registry may use a different age to define a senior.
See our Glossary for definitions.
b) You must meet the residency requirementsApplicants must permanently reside in British Columbia when applying, and each member of the household must be one of the following:
- Canadian citizen
- Individual lawfully admitted into Canada for permanent residence
- Refugee sponsored by the Government of Canada
- Individual who has applied for refugee status
- Ukrainians in Canada under the Canada-Ukrainian Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) visa
No adult members of the household can be under private sponsorship, except where BC Housing has accepted that private sponsorship has broken down.
c) Your household income must be below certain limitsTo be eligible for subsidized housing, the applicant’s gross household income must be below certain income limits, as established by the Housing Income Limits (HILs) are determined by BC Housing from time to time, and represent the income required to pay the average market rent for an appropriately sized unit in the private market. Average market rents are derived from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s Annual Rent Market Survey.
Exceptions:
- Applicants from households with income over the HILs can be considered if the applicant is applying for developments with market rents or low end of market units.
- The Senior's Rental Housing program has different income* limits based on your location in the province.
- Lower Mainland – $58,000
- Southern BC – $57,000
- Vancouver Island – $57,000
- Northern BC – $47,000
*The income limit may be slightly lower in developments where the market rent is capped.
Over the income limit? Additional units are available for moderate income seniors or persons with disabilities. See Affordable Rental Housing.
See our Glossary for definitions.
d) Your assets may be subject to certain requirementsFor buildings managed by BC Housing, in order to be eligible your household assets must be less than $100,000. BC Housing’s asset policy has been developed to benefit those in greatest need and to prevent people from having to deplete all of their resources.
Individual non-profit or co-operative housing providers will decide if they are going to apply an asset ceiling and the maximum allowable assets may vary by provider.
Assets that are included for valuation are:
- Stocks, bonds, term deposits, mutual funds and cash.
- Real estate equity, net of debt.
- Business equity in a private incorporated company including cash, GICs, bonds, stocks or real estate equity.
Assets that are excluded from valuation include:
- Personal effects such as vehicles, jewellery and furniture.
- Bursaries or scholarships from educational institutions for any household member that is a current student.
- Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs), Registered Retirement Saving Plans (RRSPs), and Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs.)
- Trade and business tools essential to continue currently active employment, such as farm equipment, specialized tools and vehicles.
- Assets derived from compensatory packages from government, for example Indian Residential School Settlements and Japanese Canadian Redress.
Potential exclusion criteria – Applicants may be excluded from consideration for The Housing Registry if any of the following apply:
- Unsatisfactory tenancy history (based on landlord references (see below), receipt of notices to end tenancies, or review of past tenancies in subsidized housing).
- Provision of false or fraudulent information.
- Failure to provide documents as requested, or consent as needed to verify information provided and to determine eligibility.
- Unable to demonstrate an ability to pay rent and/or failure to apply for and receive income from income programs, such as, but not limited to, the Ministry of Social Development or the Canada Pension Plan.
- Debt to a subsidized housing provider in B.C. (see section f)
- Do not meet residency requirements.
- Unable to live independently with supports.
- Do not meet defined household groups (as defined in section a).
- Deliberately worsened current housing situation.
- Demonstration of unacceptable behaviours either in relation to a tenancy or in the community at large that may threaten the health, safety or right of peaceful enjoyment of a community by others.
- If there is cause to believe that a household member is engaging in or has a history of criminal activity that may threaten the health, safety or right of peaceful enjoyment of the community by others, including the manufacturing or production of illegal drugs.
Note: Applicants who may be potentially excluded based on any of the above will be provided with an opportunity to provide additional information and/or documentation in support of their application to demonstrate suitability as a potential tenant. Each application and supporting documents shall be evaluated on its own merit.
Mandatory exclusion criteria
The Housing Registry will not accept applications from individuals or members of a household that have been convicted of or who have outstanding charges related to sexual interference with a child and/or possession of child pornography.
Housing Registry members wish to maximize the use of limited available affordable housing by matching eligible applicants to units that meet their needs, in a community where they can be appropriately supported in order to provide them with the best chance of a successful tenancy while cultivating communities free from fear of violence, criminal activity and disturbances of any nature that pose a risk to others.
Demonstrated unacceptable behaviours
Applicants who have demonstrated any of the following unacceptable behaviours either in relation to a tenancy or in the community at large may be excluded from consideration unless they can provide additional information and/or documentation in support of their application to demonstrate suitability as a potential tenant. Each application and supporting documents shall be evaluated on their own merit.
- Anti-Social Behaviours – Actions that have caused an unreasonable disturbance or form of harassment to other persons, or damage to property. Examples may include, but are not limited to, verbal abuse, harassment, vandalism, theft of property, racial abuse, prostitution, throwing objects likely to cause harm, substance misuse (illegal substances), and unintentional fires.
- Risks to Life Safety Behaviours – Actions that have endangered that person’s own safety or the safety of others or that have created a tangible risk to the applicant or to other persons and/or property. Examples include, but are not limited to violence of any nature, murder or manslaughter, drug trafficking, weapons offences, arson, criminal harassment, sexual assault (formally known as rape), physical assault (with or without a weapon), threats to kill or cause physical harm, vandalism to life safety systems, theft with violence or threats, kidnapping, unlawful confinement, and/or home invasions. This would also include identification by law enforcement as participants in gang related activity, regardless of conviction for the activity.
- Nuisance Behaviours – Actions that would be considered a breach of the Tenancy Agreement that are not Risks to Life Safety or Anti-Social Behaviours. Examples may include, but are not limited to, noise nuisance, cleanliness issues that cause smells/pests/health issues, smoking or drinking alcohol under age or in restricted areas, substance misuse (non-illegal substances), begging.
Information on what an applicant needs to provide in order to be considered for housing when there are unacceptable behaviours linked to a past tenancy can be found by reading the next section (below): landlord references.
Applications being reviewed based on demonstrated risk to life safety, anti-social, nuisance behaviours and/or criminal activity, not linked to a past tenancy, may be considered if:
- Applicant can provide written certification that the offending household member(s) is/are no longer a part of the household; or
- Five years or more have elapsed since conviction, time served, and probation or parole for criminal activities that may threaten the health, safety or right of peaceful enjoyment of the community for others.
- Offending household member(s) is/are able to certify corrective actions taken to change unacceptable behaviours such as satisfactory evidence of participation in or receiving services through a supported housing program.
Landlord reference
Most housing providers perform landlord reference checks when they are reviewing applicants for future available units. If you do not have a landlord reference, some housing providers may consider other references such as:
- A professional reference from someone who has known you for a reasonable period of time and who can vouch for your suitability as a tenant. This could include an employer, social worker, physician, pharmacist, advocate or case manager;
- A personal reference from someone who has known you for a reasonable period of time, and who can vouch for your suitability as a tenant.
- Proof of completion of the RentSmart program through Ready to Rent BC. RentSmart is a 12 hour course that covers a range of topics to assist participants in getting and maintaining housing. More information on the course and course availability can be on their website: www.readytorentbc.org.
Applicants, who have been identified as potentially not eligible due to an unsatisfactory tenancy history, will be asked to provide a current and verifiable landlord reference(s) demonstrating that they have maintained a successful tenancy with no reoccurrence of the behaviours demonstrated in past tenancies. The landlord reference(s) must cover a minimum of six months for nuisance behaviours and a minimum of twelve months for anti-social or life safety behaviours.
