Who is eligible for subsidized housing through The Housing Registry?

The Housing Registry is a comprehensive housing information service that allows households in search of subsidized housing to submit a single application form to be considered for all available units that are managed by housing providers that belong to The Housing Registry .

Buildings you can apply to through The Housing Registry are managed by:

1. BC Housing - housing owned and managed by BC Housing, a provincial government agency. BC Housing is responsible for tenant selection and is the landlord.

2. Non-profit housing providers - housing owned and managed by local non-profit societies. The society is responsible for tenant selection and is the landlord.

3. Co-operatives - housing managed by the members who live there. Members share responsibility for running the development and for new member selection. More information is available by visiting the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC website .

To qualify for subsidized housing through The Housing Registry, applicants must meet the following basic criteria:

1. Eligible groups

The applicant must fall into one of the following groups:

Families defined as a minimum of two people, including one dependent child
Seniors age 55 years and older
People with disabilities who can live independently and qualify for a disability pension, or are eligible for the disability tax credit
Single people with low income living in cities who are at risk of homelessness

2. Residency requirements
Applicants must permanently reside in British Columbia when applying and all members of the household must be either:

Canadian Citizens
individuals lawfully admitted into Canada for permanent residence and not under sponsorship
refugees sponsored by the Government of Canada
individuals who have applied for refugee or immigration status and for whom private sponsorship has broken down

3. Income Requirements

To be eligible for subsidized housing, the applicant's gross household income must be below certain income limits. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is the federal government housing agency that sets income limits for subsidized housing each year. The income limits vary, depending on the community and number of bedrooms in the unit.

Core Needs Income Threshold for major centres in British Columbia (Excerpt from the 2006 Core Needs Income Threshold)

Region	Bachelor	1 bedroom	2 bedroom	3 bedroom	4 bedroom
Abbotsford	$20,000	$24,500	$30,500	$38,000	$42,000
Vancouver	$29,000	$32,500	$38,500	$46,500	$51,000
Kelowna	$22,000	$25,500	$33,000	$36,000	$39,500
Kamloops	$20,500	$23,500	$29,000	$33,500	$37,000
Vernon	$18,500	$22,500	$28,000	$32,000	$35,000
Victoria	$23,000	$27,500	$34,500	$44,000	$47,500
Prince George	$19,000	$22,000	$25,500	$29,000	$31,500

Click this link for the full 2006 Core Needs Income Threshold chart . To obtain Adobe Acrobat Reader, click the icon at the bottom of the page.

Some subsidized housing developments also have low end of market units available for rent as well as rent-geared-to-income units. Applications from households with income over the Core Needs Income Threshold may be considered for these low end market units.

To find low-end of market units, click here to go to the Housing listings. Each Housing Listing chart has an Additional Information column on the far right hand corner. Market units are indicated by the letter ‘M’ in this column.

4. Requirements for former subsidized housing tenants:

Tenants who have previously lived in subsidized housing may be eligible to reapply provided they meet the residency, income limit and target group criteria above AS WELL AS the following special criteria:

Applicants must have no outstanding debt from any previous tenancy with BC Housing or any members of The Housing Registry*. Applicants with outstanding debt will be asked to pay in full or enter into a repayment plan for the outstanding amount.
Previous subsidized housing tenants may be subject to a file review. If the previous tenancy was ended for cause, applicants may not be eligible to reapply. Files will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

*To find out what subsidized housing developments are managed by members of The Housing Registry go to the Housing Listings . Select the appropriate housing zone. Open the PDF using Adobe Acrobat Reader. This first section of each chart lists the subsidized housing developments registered with The Housing Registry.

Information available in other languages
Information on eligibility and how to apply for housing is available in English , Chinese , French, Punjabi , Spanish, and Vietnamese .

For more information

Check with BC Housing to determine if you are eligible for subsidized housing. Call 604-433-2218, or 1-800-257-7756 outside the Lower Mainland, or visit one of our offices located around the province.