Low-income renters can get a one-off $500 federal payment. How much will it help struggling tenants? | 24CA News

As rising rental costs pressure many tenants’ budgets, some low-income renters can now apply for a one-off $500 cost from the federal authorities to assist ease their housing prices.

But tenant advocates say the cost will provide very restricted reduction for individuals whose month-to-month budgets are frequently stretched by the rising price of dwelling amid a scarcity of reasonably priced housing.

Are you a low-income renter who’s eligible for the one-off $500 cost? We need to hear from you at ask@cbc.ca

Here’s a breakdown of who can get the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit, and the best way to apply.

Who is eligible?

To qualify, renters have to be tax residents of Canada, and at the least 15 years previous as of Dec. 1. Other standards embrace:

• In 2021, your particular person earnings was $20,000 or much less, or your loved ones earnings was $35,000 or much less.
• Applicants will need to have filed 2021 earnings tax returns.
• The quantity of hire you paid in 2022 was equal to at the least 30 per cent of your 2021 earnings.

You don’t have to be receiving different housing advantages to use.

There are some additional guidelines in case you have roommates, pay for meals or different companies, or pay hire to a relative, in addition to just a few different dwelling conditions.

How do I apply?

You can apply on-line by means of CRA My Account or My Service Canada Account, or by means of this on-line utility kind if you happen to’re not registered for both on-line service. You also can apply by calling the Canada Revenue Agency on 1-800-282-8079.

You’ll want to offer any addresses you lived at in 2022, and the quantity of hire you paid at every. You can even want to present your landlord’s title and phone info. If you’ve a partner or common-law companion, you may want their 2021 tax return info.

The final day you possibly can apply is March 31, 2023.

What else ought to I do know?

The CRA says candidates will obtain the one-off cost inside 5 to 12 business days, with on-line functions processed barely sooner than telephone functions. People who don’t arrange direct deposit particulars on-line may need to attend just a few additional days for cheques to reach within the mail.

The cost will not have an effect on another federal income-tested advantages, such because the Canada Workers Benefit, Canada Child Benefit or Guaranteed Income Supplement, and also you needn’t report it in your earnings tax return.

How are advocates responding?

While the federal authorities touted the cost as “immediate relief” for low-income Canadians, anti-poverty advocates advised 24CA News that the reduction might be short-lived.

“It is a very much a small drop in the bucket,” stated Dania Majid, workers lawyer on the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO), pointing to rising demand at meals banks as extra Canadians battle to afford their payments.

“It might help for one month, but what’s the family going to do the next month?”

Bader Abu-Zahra, from advocacy group ACORN, stated the $500 cost could be “instrumental” in serving to his group’s members pay excellent hire or a few of their subsequent month’s hire, however added that many had been spending greater than 50 per cent of their earnings on hire every month.

“If the government wants to do something to help solve the housing crisis, they need to address the financialization of housing,” Abu-Zahra stated in an e-mail.

Advocates stated extra must be carried out to guard and create reasonably priced housing inventory for low-income earners, in addition to cracking down on property flipping and limiting the quantity by which landlords can hike rents, together with between tenancies.