A couple living with disabilities is worried they are going to lose their home after receiving a letter saying their rent will be increasing by almost $1,000 a month.
Amelia Cooper and her husband, Aaron Busch, have been living in co-op housing in Vancouver’s river district since 2021.
At the start of July, they were told their household was being reclassified to low-end market rent, based on Cooper’s income.
“Last year, (Kinship Co-op) were going to do the same thing to us, but then I had a meeting with the board of directors, and they decided to keep it on the HILs program due to the fact that I was the only income, and this year, so far, I have been the only income also,” Cooper said.
“So I went to the board of directors, and I said, ‘This is what they were able to do last year’.”
She said there have had some medical bills this year already but they were told the board is not going to change their minds.
“I was pretty upset, like, I said, it’s not fair… OK, maybe increase it one or 200 bucks or something, because that’s even more than what a normal rent amount increase would be allowed,” Cooper added.
“But they said ‘No’, and they just increased it by $920 a month. And that’s like, almost $11,000 a year more than what we’re paying now.”
Under BC Housing, the HILs program, or Housing Income Limits, represents “the maximum gross household income for eligibility in many affordable housing programs. The HILs are based on figures established by (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), and are intended to reflect the minimum income required to afford appropriate accommodation in the private market.”
The couple now faces a rental bill of $2,265 a month.
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“The amount of rent that can be increased per year legally is a lot less than what the co-op increased our rent to, and in normal circumstances, under the BC Residential Tenancy Branch, that major of an increase will be illegal,” Busch said.
The couple said they have tried to contact several groups and representatives for help but none appears to be coming.
The Co-operative Housing Federation of B.C. says that under the Co-op Act, no specific notice is required for a housing charge increase, but two months is considered best practice.
The couple is no longer eligible for a subsidy program, based on Cooper’s income.
They told Global News that the gross income, plus their disability benefits, surpassed the household income limit by $2,000.
“So it’s like, the more money you make, the less money you have when you’re a person with a disability,” Cooper said.
The Co-op Federation confirmed to Global News that Kinship follows BC Housing limit guidelines and BC Housing follows limits set by the Canadian government.
However, those limits have not been updated since 2023.
Busch said those figures must reflect the current economic climate.
“We’re living in the middle of a trade war where tariffs are increasing the prices of everyday things that we purchase,” he said.
They said it is already challenging to find affordable housing that meets their needs.
“I understand that it’s like the rules, but $920 all of a sudden, that much money increase is a lot of money,” Cooper said.
“To have to pay that much money all of a sudden more, it’s kind of difficult for us to re-budget everything and and now, leftover money after rent and bills was like $1,000, which sounds like a lot, but groceries cost us like 500 bucks.
“The bills and everything together is really expensive.”
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