Copyright © Queen's Printer,

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Licence

Disclaimer

Volume 57, No. 7

70/2014

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

April 22, 2014

B.C. Reg. 70/2014 , deposited April 17, 2014, under the SHELTER AID FOR ELDERLY RENTERS ACT [section 9]. Order in Council 218/2014, approved and ordered April 16, 2014.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Regulation, B.C. Reg. 298/77, is amended as set out in the attached Schedule.

— R. COLEMAN, Minister of Natural Gas Development and Minister Responsible for Housing and Deputy Premier ; S. CADIEUX, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Schedule

1 Sections 2 and 2.1 of the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Regulation, B.C. Reg. 298/77, are repealed and the following substituted:

Interpretation

(1) In this regulation:

“Act” means the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters Act ;

“adjusted income” , in relation to a person, means the person’s income less any exemptions that would be applicable to the person under

section 5 (2) if that person were an eligible renter;

“adjusted rent” , in relation to a person, means the amount that is the lesser of

(

a) the person’s rent, and

(

b) the maximum rent that would apply to that person under

section 6 if that person were an eligible renter;

“allowance” has the same meaning as in

section 2 of the Old Age Security Act (Canada);

“benefit year” , in relation to a person, means the 12 month period beginning on the first day of the person’s month of birth;

“eligible renter” means a person who is determined to be eligible to receive shelter aid;

“guaranteed income supplement” has the same meaning as “supplement” in

section 2 of the Old Age Security Act (Canada);

“income” , in relation to a person, means

(

a) the person’s pension source income for the month of July that preceded the beginning of the person’s most recent benefit year, plus

(

b) the person’s income from all sources during the calendar year that preceded the beginning of the person’s most recent benefit year, minus the sum of the following, divided by 12:

(

i) the person’s pension source income for that calendar year;

(ii) shelter aid or any rent supplement payment received from the government or an agency of the government for that calendar year,

and, if the person has a spouse, means the combined income of that person and their spouse;

“individual” means a person who is not a spouse;

“maximum rent” , for an eligible renter, means the maximum rent applicable to the eligible renter under

section 6;

“old age security” has the same meaning as “pension” in

section 2 of the Old Age Security Act (Canada);

“pension source income” means money received by a person from the following sources:

(

a) old age security, guaranteed income supplement and allowance;

(

b) Provincial senior’s supplement;

“Provincial senior’s supplement” means amounts paid under

section 64 of the Employment and Assistance Regulation;

“rent” , in relation to a person, subject to subsections (2), (3), (4) and (5), means money paid on a regular basis by the person for the right to possess living accommodation, calculated on a monthly basis, but does not include

(

a) money paid by the person for meals, for housekeeping, laundry or emergency response services or for social or recreational opportunities,

(

b) rent supplements received by the person from the government or an agency of the government, or

(

c) a security deposit or pet damage deposit, both as defined in

section 1 of the

Residential Tenancy Act or a security deposit as defined in

section 17 of the Manufactured Home Park Tenancy Act ;

“spouse” , in relation to a person, means

(

a) a person to whom the person is married, or

(

b) a person with whom the person resides in a marriage-like relationship,

but does not include a person described in paragraph (

a) if the spouses are separated and living apart.

(2) If a person’s living accommodation is a manufactured home and the person rents the manufactured home site on which the manufactured home is located but not that manufactured home, the manufactured home site is to be treated as if it were the person’s living accommodation.

(3) If a person’s living accommodation is a manufactured home and the person rents both the manufactured home and the site on which the manufactured home is located, the manufactured home and the manufactured home site are to be treated as the person’s living accommodation.

(4) If 2 or more adults occupy the same living accommodation, the amount of rent paid for the living accommodation for an eligible renter is deemed to be

(

a) for an individual eligible renter, the amount derived by equally apportioning the rent for the living accommodation among all the adult occupiers, and

(

b) for an eligible renter who has a spouse, the amount calculated by multiplying by 2 the amount derived under paragraph (

a) for the eligible renter.

(5) If the cost of heating a person’s living accommodation is not paid by the landlord, the person’s rent may be increased by up to $35 each month towards that cost or the eligible renter’s share of that cost.

Section 3 is amended

(

a) by repealing subsection (1), and

(

b) in subsection (2)

(

i) by striking out “ an applicant or trustee ” and substituting “ an applicant for shelter aid or a trustee ”,

(ii) by striking out “ of an applicant ” and substituting “ of the applicant ”, and

(iii) by striking out “ an application ” and substituting “ the application ”.

Section 4 is repealed and the following substituted:

Eligibility

(1) An applicant is eligible to receive shelter aid if the eligibility committee determines that

(

a) the applicant

(

i) is receiving or is entitled to receive old age security or a guaranteed income supplement, or

(ii) has reached 60 years of age and is a Canadian citizen or entitled under an enactment of Canada to take up permanent residence in Canada or has been determined under the

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) or the Immigration Act (Canada) to be a Convention refugee,

(

b) if the applicant has a spouse, the spouse is a Canadian citizen or entitled under an enactment of Canada to take up permanent residence in Canada or has been determined under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) or the Immigration Act (Canada) to be a Convention refugee,

(

c) the applicant occupies a residence,

(

d) the applicant does not reside in

(

i) a facility licensed under the Community Care and Assisted Living Act , or

(ii) an unlicensed facility if the rent is paid or subsidized under any program administered by the government,

(

e) the applicant is not in receipt of a monthly support allowance or shelter allowance under

(

i) Schedule A of the Employment and Assistance Regulation, or

(ii)

Schedule A of the Employment and Assistance for Persons with Disabilities Regulation,

(

f) the applicant or, if the applicant has a spouse, the applicant’s spouse has resided in British Columbia for a period of not less than one continuous year immediately before the date of application, and

(

g) the applicant’s adjusted rent exceeds 30% of applicant’s adjusted income.

(2) Despite subsection (1), if an applicant’s spouse does not meet the requirement of subsection (1) (b), the applicant’s eligibility and shelter aid are to be determined as if the applicant has no spouse and were sharing living accommodation with an adult other than a spouse.

Section 5 is amended

(

a) by adding the following subsection:

(1) The shelter aid to which an eligible renter is entitled for a month is calculated as follows:

(

a) for an eligible renter whose adjusted income is less than or equal to the base income, by multiplying the eligible renter’s rent gap by 90%;

(

b) for an eligible renter whose adjusted income is greater than the base income, by multiplying the eligible renter’s rent gap by the percentage calculated using the following formula:

(

b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) In calculating the income of an eligible renter, the following amounts are exempt:

(

a) amounts received by the eligible renter as benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Canada);

(

b) up to $10.42 received by the eligible renter as Provincial senior’s supplement. ,

(

c) in subsection (3) by striking out “ Where ” and substituting “ If ” and by striking out “ commencement ” and substituting “ beginning ”,

(

d) in subsection (4) by striking out “ Where ” and substituting “ If ” and by striking out “ shall be entitled ” and substituting “ is entitled ”, and

(

e) by adding the following subsections:

(5) If the shelter aid calculated under subsection (1) for an eligible renter is less than $25, the shelter aid to which the eligible renter is entitled is $25.

(6) In this section:

“base income” , for a period from August 1 to July 31, is equal to the maximum amount of old age security plus the maximum amount of guaranteed income supplement payable to a person for the July immediately preceding that August 1 minus $10.42;

“rent gap” , for an eligible renter, is equal to the lesser of

(

a) the eligible renter’s rent, and

(

b) the eligible renter’s maximum rent,

minus 30% of the eligible renter’s income.

Section 6 is repealed and the following substituted:

Maximum rent

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the maximum rent that applies to an eligible renter for the purposes of the definition of “adjusted rent” in

section 2 (1) is as follows:

(

a) for an individual eligible renter who is living alone outside of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, $667;

(

b) for an individual eligible renter who is living alone within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, $765;

(

c) for an eligible renter who has a spouse and is living outside of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, $727;

(

d) for an eligible renter who has a spouse and is living within the Greater Vancouver Regional District, $825;

(

e) for an eligible renter who is sharing living accommodation with one or more adults outside of the Greater Vancouver Regional District,

(i) $1 066 divided by the number of adults living in the accommodation, and

(ii) if the eligible renter has a spouse, by multiplying by 2 the amount calculated under subparagraph (

i) for that eligible renter;

(

f) for an eligible renter who is sharing living accommodation with one or more adults within the Greater Vancouver Regional District,

(i) $1 066 divided by the number of adults living in the accommodation, and

(ii) if the eligible renter has a spouse, by multiplying by 2 the amount calculated under subparagraph (

i) for that eligible renter.

(2) If an eligible renter is eligible under

section 2 (5) for an amount towards the cost of heating the eligible renter’s living accommodation, the maximum rent for the eligible renter is the amount applicable to that eligible renter under subsection (1) plus the amount for which that eligible renter is eligible under

section 2 (5).

Section 8 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1.1) by striking out “ shall ” in both places and substituting “ must ”,

(

b) in subsections (2), (3) and (4) by striking out “ Where ” and substituting “ If ”,

(

c) in subsection (2) by striking out “ shall recalculate ” and substituting “ must recalculate ” and by striking out “ shall only be entitled to receive ” and substituting “ is entitled to receive only ”,

(

d) in subsection (3) by striking out “ the amount of shelter aid which an eligible renter is entitled to receive is increased, such increase shall be effective ” and substituting “ the amount of shelter aid that an eligible renter is entitled to receive is increased, the increase is effective ”, and

(

e) in subsection (4) by striking out “ such reduction shall be effective ” and substituting “ the reduction is effective ”.

Section 9 is amended

(

a) in subsections (1) and (2) by striking out “ shall cease ” and substituting “ ceases ”,

(

b) in subsection (1) by striking out “ commencement ” and substituting “ beginning ”, by striking out “ he ” and substituting “ the eligible renter ” and by striking out “ his rent ” and substituting “ his or her rent ”,

(

c) in subsection (2) by striking out “ his residence ” and substituting “ the eligible renter’s residence ”, and

(

d) in subsections (3) and (4) by striking out “ Where ” and substituting “ If ” and by striking out “ he ” wherever it appears and substituting “ the person ”.

Section 10 is amended by striking out “ Where ” and substituting “ If ” and by striking out “ shall be paid ” and substituting “ must be paid ”.

Section 11 (2) is amended by striking out “ Where ” and substituting “ If ”, by striking out “ he shall, upon becoming eligible, be ” and substituting “ upon becoming eligible, the person is ” and by striking out “ in which he otherwise ” and substituting “ in which that person ”.

10 Sections 12 to 14 are repealed.

Copyright © 2014: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada