Help with rent, and help changing your home so you can stay in it

Help paying the rent you already pay

BC Housing runs three programs that put money in your hand every month for the place you already rent. You do not move. You do not join a wait list. The money is a payment, not an apartment.

All three ask the same first question: does more than 30% of your income before tax go to rent? In Victoria, for most people on a pension, the answer is yes.

SAFER, for renters 60 and over

SAFER is the most under-claimed money in this guide.

To get SAFER, all of these must be true:

• You are 60 or older.
• You have lived in BC for the last 12 months.
• You rent your home. Renting in a manufactured home park counts. Renting from a family member can count if it is a real tenancy — ask BC Housing rather than deciding for yourself.
• Your gross household income is under $3,333.34 a month, which is $40,000 a year.
• More than 30% of that gross monthly income goes to rent.
• You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (not under sponsorship), a government-sponsored refugee, a refugee claimant, or in Canada on the CUAET visa for Ukrainians.

BC Housing's SAFER page does not list a savings or asset test. Money in the bank is not the barrier people think it is.

The payment is a formula, not a flat rate, so two neighbours with different incomes get different cheques. Even if your rent is well above $1,150 a month, still apply — the calculation simply stops counting rent above the ceiling. It does not pay you nothing.

How to apply for SAFER, step by step

1. Find proof of your age. A driver's licence, BC Services Card, passport or birth certificate.
2. Find proof of your rent. Your lease, a rent receipt, or a short letter from your landlord saying what you pay.
3. Find last year's income for every adult in the home. The easiest paper is your CRA Notice of Assessment, or a proof of income statement. If you have not filed a tax return, that is the thing to fix first — with no return, BC Housing cannot work out your payment. Free tax clinics in Victoria will file past years for you.
4. Get the form. Apply online at the BC Housing SAFER page, or phone 1-800-257-7756 (or 604-433-2218) and ask them to mail you a paper one.
5. Everyone in the household who is 19 or older signs it. A form missing a signature comes straight back.
6. Send it in and wait for the decision. Once you are approved, the money comes every month, usually by direct deposit.
7. Tell BC Housing when your rent or income changes. The payment is recalculated, and a rent increase can mean more money.

The Rental Assistance Program, for working families with children

RAP is the same idea as SAFER, for a different group: families with at least one dependent child, earning $60,000 or less last year. A dependent child is under 19, or under 25 and studying full time, or any age if they have a disability.

RAP is for renters in the private market. It is the opposite of subsidized housing. You do not qualify if you already live in subsidized or co-op housing, if you share a kitchen or bathroom with your landlord, or if you are on income assistance or disability assistance.

You must have lived in BC for the last 12 months, have less than $100,000 in assets, and file a tax return every year. Money arrives by direct deposit on the last working day of the month. RAP has to be renewed every year — that is where families lose it.

If you are a senior without children at home, RAP is not yours. SAFER is.

The Canada-BC Housing Benefit, the one with no form

This one is strange, and worth understanding because it is aimed at exactly the people the other two turn away. BC Housing describes it as help for people who do not qualify for its other rental programs.

You cannot apply for it directly. Somebody has to pick you. Two things make that possible:

• Being on The Housing Registry — the same central wait list used for subsidized housing. BC Housing selects some people for this benefit from that list.
• Being known to a non-profit housing provider that serves a priority group you belong to. They invite people to apply.

So the practical step is the next section: get on the Housing Registry, even if you have no plan to move. It costs nothing and it is the door to this benefit.

If you are invited, bring government ID, proof of income such as a pay stub, proof of your rent, and your bank details. It can be paid straight to your landlord, which sometimes stops an eviction.

Subsidized and accessible housing

Subsidized housing is a home where the rent is set at 30% of your household's gross income instead of at the market rate, with a minimum rent that depends on household size. BC Housing runs one central wait list for it, called The Housing Registry. One application covers BC Housing's own buildings and many non-profit landlords across Greater Victoria.

You can qualify if you live in BC, everyone in the household has eligible status in Canada, your gross household income is under the Housing Income Limit for the area, and you are one of:

• a senior aged 55 or older,
• a person with a disability living independently who gets a disability pension or has the Disability Tax Credit,
• a family — at least two people including a dependent child, or
• a single person or couple on a low income who is homeless or at risk of it.

For BC Housing's own buildings, household assets must be under $100,000. The Housing Income Limits are set from local market rents and change, so ask BC Housing for the current Victoria figure rather than guessing.

BC Housing sorts applicants into five priority groups. The highest priority goes to people facing a severe risk to their health or safety, such as homelessness or living in a shelter. This is why the paperwork you attach matters more than the form itself. An eviction notice, a shelter stay, or a letter from your doctor about why your current home is unsafe can move you up.

The wait is long. BC Housing does not publish a wait time for Victoria, so ask when you apply. That is an argument for applying sooner, not for skipping it: your time on the list does not start until the application is in.

How to get on the Housing Registry

1. Fill in one Housing Registry application — online at bchousing.org, or on paper by mail, by fax, or in person at a BC Housing office. Do not apply building by building; the central registry covers many.
2. Say clearly if you need an accessible unit, and say what you need: no stairs, room for a walker, a roll-in shower, a bathroom you can turn a wheelchair in.
3. Attach proof of income, proof of your status in Canada, and anything showing urgency — an eviction notice, a hospital or shelter letter, a note from your doctor.
4. Keep your phone number and address up to date. Applicants BC Housing cannot reach get taken off the list. Call Applicant Services at 1-800-257-7756 whenever anything changes.
5. While you wait, apply for SAFER or RAP anyway. They are cash for the place you rent today, and being on the registry does not stop you getting them.

If you have no fixed address or no phone to put on the form, that is a solved problem in Victoria — see Where to get help below, and our Reachable Number, a permanent phone number that follows you.

Changing your home so you can stay in it

A great many people leave their homes for care not because their health collapsed, but because they could not get into the bathtub any more, or could not manage the front steps.

You can qualify if:

• You, or someone in your household, has a permanent disability or a lasting loss of ability, and the change you want is directly connected to it.
• The home is the main residence of both the owner and the person who needs the change.
• Household income before tax is under $146,270. That limit is far above most people's income — do not rule yourself out.
• Household assets are under $100,000, not counting the equity in your home.
• The home's BC Assessment value is below the program's Home Value Limit for your area.
• You are a BC resident with eligible status in Canada.

Renters can apply too. Tenants and their landlord file a joint application, which the landlord has to sign. Many renters assume RAHA is only for owners and never ask.

How to apply for BC RAHA, step by step

1. Look at the Maximum Rebate Schedule on bchousing.org. It lists what each adaptation pays. Anything not on the list needs written estimates.
2. Get an assessment if your change needs one. Some adaptations need a home assessment by an occupational therapist, physiotherapist or other health professional. Call 211 to be pointed at one.
3. Gather your papers: proof of status in Canada, the most recent CRA Notice of Assessment for everyone in the household aged 19 or over, bank or investment statements, and proof of address.
4. Send the application in before you hire anyone. Homeowners use the homeowner form. Tenants and landlords file the joint form together.
5. Wait for written approval, then do the work and send the receipts within 180 days.
6. If you can, apply early in the spring. The money is first-come, first-served and the budget renews on 1 April. Complete applications are handled first.

Three tax credits for the same kind of work

The rebate is not the only help. Renovation costs can also come back to you at tax time — and two of these three are refundable, meaning you get the money even if you owe no tax at all.

Three things worth knowing about all of them:

• The receipt decides everything. It must show the contractor's name, business address and GST/HST number, what was done, where, when, and proof you paid. A cash job with no invoice cannot be claimed. Keep the receipts; do not mail them with the return.
• A low-income senior with no tax to pay should not claim the federal Home Accessibility credit alone. It is not refundable, so it does nothing for them. The adult child who paid for the work may be able to claim it instead.
• Whether the same expense can be claimed on both the BC and the federal credit was not confirmed on the BC page we read. Ask a free tax clinic or the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 before you assume either way.

The Multigenerational credit has one trap worth repeating: the suite must be genuinely self-contained. A room with a shared kitchen does not count. And it must be claimed in the tax year the work is finished, not the year you paid the deposit.

Getting the Disability Tax Credit first opens the door to all of these for anyone under 65. Our guide to the Disability Tax Credit walks through it.

If you own your home

Owning a home on a small pension is its own kind of squeeze: the house is worth something, but the property tax bill still arrives every summer. Two provincial programs deal with exactly that.

The home owner grant for seniors

Every homeowner gets a basic grant off their property tax. Seniors 65 and over get a bigger one — $845 a year for a Victoria home. From 1 January 2027 the senior grant is $845 everywhere in BC.

To get it, you own and live in the home as your principal residence, you turn 65 at some point during the year, and the assessed value is at or under the threshold — $2,075,000 on the page we read. Above that the grant shrinks. You also have to pay at least $100 of property tax after the grant is applied.

If your Victoria home is over the threshold but your income is small — an ordinary situation here — there is a low income grant supplement. Your adjusted net income must be $32,000 or less, with a reduced amount between $30,000 and $32,000. It is worth $845 (or $1,045 in a northern or rural area), and $845 everywhere from 1 January 2027. You file form FIN 65 by 31 December of the tax year.

Deferring your property tax

Property tax deferment lets the Province pay your property taxes for you and register a loan against the home. You pay it back, with interest, when the home is sold or transferred — or sooner, if you want to. It is a loan, not a grant. The taxes are still owed. What it does is free up cash now.

You can apply if you are 55 or older during the year, or a surviving spouse of any age, or a person with disabilities, and:

• you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has lived in BC for at least a year,
• the home is your principal residence,
• you have at least 25% equity — everything registered against the property, plus the taxes you want to defer, cannot be more than 75% of the BC Assessment value, and
• all earlier years' property taxes, utility fees, penalties and interest are already paid.

The interest rate for the Regular Program was 6.45% for 1 July to 30 September 2026 — the government's prime rate of 4.45% plus 2%. The rate is reset each period, and it went up sharply in 2026: before that, the Regular Program charged prime minus 2%. Ask what the rate is today and how it adds up over ten years before you decide. The government pages mention application and renewal fees but did not state the amounts, so ask about those too.

To apply: wait for your tax notice (in Victoria it usually arrives in late May), claim your home owner grant first, then apply online through eTaxBC before the due date on the notice — the deferment application is separate from the grant, and missing the date means a penalty. You will need the folio or roll number and your Social Insurance Number. You must renew every year. If a computer is not an option, phone 1-888-355-2700.

If your mortgage is large and you are refused for not having 25% equity, re-apply in a later year. The mortgage shrinks, and people rarely try twice.

Help that keeps you at home

A ramp is one half of staying put. The other half is help with the day, and a heating bill you can pay.

Home and community care

Island Health can send a care aide to your home to help with bathing, dressing, getting up, toileting, meals and safety. It also runs adult day programs, assisted living, care homes and short respite stays.

You do not need a doctor's referral. You, a family member, or a friend can start it with one phone call to the Community Access Line for the South Island: 1-888-533-2273. An intake nurse asks about daily needs, then arranges a home assessment.

Other 2026 rates, for comparison: adult day programs cost at most $10 a day and can be waived for hardship. Assisted living is 70% of your after-tax income, at least $1,253.80 a month for a single person and $1,909.80 for a couple. Long-term care is up to 80% of after-tax income, between $1,507.70 and $4,142.60 a month. A short respite stay is $49.57 a day. Rates change every January, and there is a hardship reduction — ask about it.

Caregivers: ask for respite and adult day programs at the same call. They exist for your relief, not only the other person's, and nobody will offer them if you do not ask.

Help with the heating and the power bill

In Victoria your electricity comes from BC Hydro and your gas, if you have it, from FortisBC. Three kinds of help:

• The Customer Crisis Fund — a BC Hydro grant that pays an overdue bill so the power is not cut off. You do not pay it back. Up to $800 if your home has electric heat, up to $700 otherwise. BC Hydro's general bill-help page still says $600, so ask what the amount is now. You need a residential account, payments at least 21 days overdue or a disconnection notice, a balance of $1,000 or less, some attempt to have paid, and a life event in the last year — a job loss, a benefit loss, medical costs, a death — that caused the crisis. One grant per account holder per year, and about 21 days for a decision. Phone 1-800-224-9376 for a payment plan first, then apply online or on the paper form at a Service BC office.
• A free Energy Saving Kit — LED bulbs, weather stripping, a high-efficiency showerhead, tap aerators and more. Free, one per household every five years, three to six weeks to arrive.
• The Energy Conservation Assistance Program — a free home visit by an energy coach, free products installed, and for some homes free insulation, draft-proofing, ventilation, or an air-source heat pump at no cost. Renters need a landlord consent form. BC Hydro's outreach line is 1-888-798-7658.

The kit and the free-upgrade program go by last year's household income: under $51,100 for one person, $63,600 for two, $78,200 for three, $94,900 for four. If you cannot find a tax return, a GIS, SAFER or disability assistance letter is accepted as proof of income. Renters qualify when the utility account is in their name.

Gas and electricity are two different companies and two separate applications. FortisBC gas customers: 1-888-224-2710.

Why people miss all of this

• "I make too much." This sentence costs Victoria seniors more money than anything else on this page. SAFER's line is $40,000. BC RAHA's is $146,270. Neither is where people imagine it is.
• "That's subsidized housing, and the wait list is hopeless." SAFER and RAP are cheques for the home you rent right now. There is no wait list and no move.
• Taxes were never filed. No return means no proof of income, which means no SAFER, no RAP, no refundable renovation credit. Free clinics in Victoria file past years.
• The work got done first. BC RAHA cannot pay for a ramp that already exists. Approval comes before the contractor.
• "I'm a renter, so it's not for me." Renters can get BC RAHA with the landlord's signature, can claim the BC renovation credit on work they pay for, and can get the free energy kit if the bill is in their name.
• The receipt was a scrap of paper. No contractor name, address or GST number means no tax credit, whatever the work cost.
• Nobody could reach them. People come off the Housing Registry when a phone number stops working. If that is a risk for you, our Reachable Number is a phone number that stays yours.
• They waited for a crisis. Home care, a stair lift, a spot on the housing list — all of them are far easier to arrange before the fall than after it.

Where to get help in Victoria

People in Victoria who will sit down with the forms with you:

• Together Against Poverty Society (TAPS), 828 View Street — free tenant advocacy, help with benefits, and free tax filing all year round. Walk in Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday, 9 am to noon and 1 to 4 pm; Wednesdays are phone-only. 250-361-3521. If you have an eviction notice, phone them the day it arrives, not the week it takes effect.
• Victoria Cool Aid Society, REES Centre, 465 Swift Street — a free drop-in with phones, computers and outreach workers who help people apply for benefits and keep housing. Monday to Friday, 9 am to 3:30 pm. 250-595-8619. Main office 250-383-1977.
• James Bay Community Project, 547 Michigan Street — seniors outreach, a free tax clinic, and the Better at Home program for Victoria and Oak Bay (light housekeeping, rides, friendly visits). Monday to Friday, 8 am to 4 pm. 250-388-7844, extension 0.
• Island Health Community Access Line — home support, adult day programs, assisted living. 1-888-533-2273.
• Seniors Serving Seniors, Seniors Link — referrals for home adaptations and renovations. 250-413-3211, weekdays 9 am to 4 pm.
• Office of the Seniors Advocate — for problems with care or the rates you are charged. 1-877-952-3181.
• 211 — dial 211 any time to be pointed at a seniors' centre, an occupational therapist, or a housing outreach worker near you.

Or call the Reachable Line and we will look it up with you, out loud, at your pace — and we will stay on the line while you call BC Housing if that helps.

Related guides

• The Disability Tax Credit — it raises your priority for accessible housing and opens the renovation tax credits for anyone under 65.
• Free help filing your taxes — an unfiled return is the most common reason SAFER and the refundable renovation credits never arrive.
• The PWD designation in BC — disability assistance, and how it interacts with rent help.
• Start here — if you are not sure which benefits apply to you at all.
• All guides — the full library.

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page comes from a government or agency page we read on the date shown. Amounts change, usually in January or April. If you are reading this long after the date at the top, phone the number above and check.

• BC Housing, Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters (SAFER): bchousing.org — SAFER (read 1 September 2026)
• BC Housing, Rental Assistance Program: bchousing.org — RAP (read 1 September 2026)
• BC Housing, Canada-BC Housing Benefit and its eligibility page: bchousing.org — CBCHB (read 1 September 2026)
• BC Housing, Subsidized housing and The Housing Registry: bchousing.org — subsidized housing (read 1 September 2026)
• BC Housing, BC Rebate for Accessible Home Adaptations, program overview and homeowner eligibility: bchousing.org — BC RAHA (read 1 September 2026)
• Canada Revenue Agency, Line 31285, Home accessibility expenses: canada.ca — line 31285 (read 2 September 2026)
• Canada Revenue Agency, Line 45355, Multigenerational home renovation tax credit, and who can claim it: canada.ca — line 45355 (read 2 September 2026)
• Department of Finance Canada, Delivering a middle class tax cut — the lowest federal rate of 14.5% for 2025 and 14% from 2026: canada.ca — tax cut (read 2 September 2026)
• Province of BC, BC Home Renovation Tax Credit for Seniors and Persons with Disabilities: gov.bc.ca — seniors renovation credit (read 1 September 2026)
• Province of BC, Home owner grant for seniors and the low income grant supplement: gov.bc.ca — senior home owner grant (read 2 September 2026)
• Province of BC, Property tax deferment — eligibility and current and previous interest rates: gov.bc.ca — deferment (read 1 September 2026)
• Province of BC, Home and Community Care, including who pays for care, and the Home and Community Care Policy Manual chapter 7 client rates effective 1 January 2026: gov.bc.ca — home and community care (read 1 September 2026)
• Island Health, Home and community care — South Island access line: islandhealth.ca — home care (read 2 September 2026)
• BC Hydro, Customer Crisis Fund: bchydro.com — Customer Crisis Fund (read 1 September 2026)
• BC Hydro, Savings based on income — the free energy saving kit, the Energy Conservation Assistance Program, and the income table: bchydro.com — savings based on income (read 1 September 2026)
• FortisBC, Contact us — gas and electricity numbers: fortisbc.com — contact (read 1 September 2026)
• Together Against Poverty Society: tapsbc.ca (read 1 September 2026)
• Victoria Cool Aid Society: coolaid.org (read 1 September 2026)
• James Bay Community Project: jbcp.bc.ca (read 1 September 2026)
• Seniors Serving Seniors, Seniors Link: sssbc.org — Seniors Link (read 2 September 2026)
• Office of the Seniors Advocate: seniorsadvocatebc.ca (read 2 September 2026)

Reachable is not a landlord, a lawyer, or the government. This guide explains public programs in plain language so you can go and claim them. It is not legal or financial advice about your own situation.