Rent Bank

[Queen K]

https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/3 ... ear#318115

A solution or enabling landlords, some of whom owned long before real estate prices escalated, to continue to gouge renters?

And offering "financial advice" to people for whom earnings can't support sudden expenses on top of gouging rent and ever increasing utilitiy bills seems rather insulting.

[Vacancyrate]

Before the late 1980's foodbanks didn't exist.

Now we have rent banks?

We're going in the opposite direction but "world leaders" keep telling us how better off we all are.

Repeating it over and over again.

Sure.

[stevemic]

Why does it matter how long someone has owned their home?

[BC Landlord]

A solution or enabling landlords, ...

How is this "enabling" landlords? In what? Landlords need rent payments just as much as tenants need a place to live. You don't want that relationship broken. I don't have very high opinion of governments in general, but I think this is actually a very good idea.
However, there has to be some deterrent from people using it habitually as an interest-free credit card. Is there a credit limit? Perhaps, allow landlords access to prospective tenants' credit draw history, and funds available ? Any other ideas?

[flamingfingers]

^^ from the article:

Rent banks provide small and interest-free loans to eligible people who have the ability to repay the loans over a six-24 month period.

[GordonH]

Single person just starting out making $15 per/Hr at 40 per/week makes after deductions $2,185.78 per/month.

Let me ask all board experts is there 1 bedroom or studio apartment in Kelowna for $765 per/month.

35% of this individual take home pay to go to housing.

[Vacancyrate]

How is this "enabling" landlords?

The same way fulltime Walmart workers use up billions in low-income assistance. If the help didn't exist nobody could work at Walmart because they would starve or get evicted. Those tax-dollars used for low income assistance directly pad the Waltons profits every year.

Walmart would either be forced to close their doors or pay higher wages.

I agree that "the rent is too damn high" but so are mortgage payments. As I pointed out in another thread - there is only so far we can run this real-estate economy because you can lend people larger and larger amounts of money to buy a home but renters cannot get a mortgage to pay their rent.

Rents are always tied to local wages. House prices can be far removed from local wages due to access to credit but at the end of the day you can only jack up rent so much and cram people into closets for so long before it gets ridiculous and the train hits the wall. We're right at that point.

Now, should we use tax dollars to give to renters to help them pay ridiculous rents, which ultimately is a direct stimulus to real estate prices to sustain high prices?

Do you think people that own homes worth 900k need MORE assistance from the taxpayer? A direct welfare cheque to their "mortgage helper" basement suite?

Do you think the real estate sector need more steroids?

[Vacancyrate]

35% of this individual take home pay to go to housing.

People who don't go to University don't get to live in a basic one bedroom apartment without having to share a bathroom with a stranger. Nice society we're building. Somebody please remind me how people in Mexico have it worse and why I should be quiet ...it's been 5 whole minutes.

[BC Landlord]

Single person just starting out making $15 per/Hr at 40 per/week makes after deductions $2,185.78 per/month.

Let me ask all board experts is there 1 bedroom or studio apartment in Kelowna for $765 per/month.

35% of this individual take home pay to go to housing.

$15/hr is a minimum wage. It's never been that this alone could support a living.

[GordonH]

Single person just starting out making $15 per/Hr at 40 per/week makes after deductions $2,185.78 per/month.

Let me ask all board experts is there 1 bedroom or studio apartment in Kelowna for $765 per/month.

35% of this individual take home pay to go to housing.

$15/hr is a minimum wage. It's never been that this alone could support a living.

So what do you suggest to this individual and many like this person.

[BC Landlord]

So what do you suggest to this individual and many like this person.

Hmmm, ... maybe get a better education, take some course or something, then look for better opportunities, perhaps elsewhere? There are many ways. Minimum wage job is kids' summer job. Anyone making it a career, doesn't have a problem with the system, but him/herself.

[GordonH]

So what do you suggest to this individual and many like this person.

Hmmm, ... maybe get a better education, take some course or something, then look for better opportunities, perhaps elsewhere? There are many ways. Minimum wage job is kids' summer job. Anyone making it a career, doesn't have a problem with the system, but him/herself.

Small problem with your logic, many businesses that pay minimum wage operate 365 days a year. So fast food joints can only be open when high school kids are available.
This is also the case for large portion of employees at all grocery store. Generally customer service jobs pay minimum wage.

[BC Landlord]

Small problem with your logic, many businesses that pay minimum wage operate 365 days a year.

And my answer to that would be, ... let it be their own problem, not yours. No one is forcing anyone to work for a minimum wage. There are other opportunities out there.

[GordonH]

Small problem with your logic, many businesses that pay minimum wage operate 365 days a year.

And my answer to that would be, ... let it be their own problem, not yours. No one is forcing anyone to work for a minimum wage. There are other opportunities out there.

Without employees all those businesses would either have to shutdown or increase prices to pay higher wages/ a living wage.
I don’t use fast food places or coffee places either, I wonder if anyone would pay 15 bucks for Big Mac...

Grocery stores on other hand could be scary prices.

[Queen K]

"in January 2021 will help to increase housing stability in our community by offering interest-free, repayable loans to eligible renters in the Central Okanagan.""

Know what would increase "housing stabiity"? Lower monthly rents.