B.C.’s Rental Protection Fund secures 2,000 deeply affordable housing units
The Rental Protection Fund announced Monday that it has secured more than 2,000 affordable rental homes across B.C. through property acquisitions.
The fund – a non-profit organization established in 2023 with an initial investment of $500 million – works with local non-profits to acquire property around the province. Current tenants in these buildings can not only stay when the property is purchased, but also continue paying rent that is significantly lower than market rates.
According to a social and affordable housing survey, “affordable housing is largely managed by non-profits.” In B.C., they operate three-quarters of the province’s affordable housing stock.
The Rental Protection Fund also developed a Strategic Housing Acquisition Resource Platform that allows community and non-profit housing providers to receive support during a property acquisition process.
According to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rents in B.C. have continued to rise from 2022 to 2025. Where a one-bedroom would, on average, have cost $1,432 per month in 2022, it was going for $1,685 in 2025, an increase of 17 per cent.