B.C. government to end rent supplement program April 1

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated that BC Rent Bank had been cancelled. While the province initially indicated it would not proceed with funding, the organization has since confirmed that it received provincial funding approval on March 31. Read an update here.

The B.C. government has confirmed it will no longer fund its Supported Rent Supplement Program (SRSP) beginning April 1, as per its 2026 budget. 

For the past two years, the program has provided monthly financial assistance and support services to low-income residents to offset rent costs along with the federally funded Canada-British Columbia Housing Benefit (CBCHB). 

The announcement came as a surprise to Carolina Ibarra, who said the demand for the program is very high.

“There’s no failure in this program to point to, it’s just, it’s baffling,” said Ibarra, CEO of Pacifica Housing.

“This program is so successful and it’s cost effective,” she said.

There are currently 52 clients enrolled in SRSP through Pacifica Housing, one of Vancouver Island’s largest operators and owners of affordable housing and supportive services. 

In 2025, Pacifica Housing distributed more than $187,000 to its 65 clients to support basic needs, such as food through the SRSP program, and more than $22,600 to support household setup and retention.

In total, more than $324,405 in subsidies were provided that year. 

However, the province has indicated that funding is limited and must be carefully distributed.

“Given fiscal constraints, we need to ensure that limited funding is allocated where it is most efficient and effective,” a provincial spokesperson said in a statement to Future of Good.

“If I was going to cut something because I didn’t have money, this wouldn’t be one of them,” said Ibarra.

The funding cut won’t have an immediate impact; however, it will prevent future clients from accessing the program.

“When someone graduates from the program, which is what we want, we’re no longer able to reassign that spot to another person,” she said.

SRSP providers can allocate existing independent CBCHB rent supplements for eligible residents, according to the B.C. government.

“Current SRSP clients will retain their rent supplements and staff supports through the next agreement cycle ending March 31, 2027,” the provincial spokesperson said.

About 30 people on Pacifica Housing’s program wait list will no longer qualify. 

“One of the benefits of the SRSP program is that it helps people either move away from supportive housing or avoid it altogether or move out of it into more independent living settings,” she said. “It also frees up space for people who are homeless and probably need the supportive housing settings. 

“So the impact on the vulnerable community is really big, not having this as an option, because it puts pressure on basically everything else.”

Health Services a larger loss

The SRSP didn’t just provide funding for rent, it also provided important health services to many clients, something Ibarra believes will have wide-reaching impacts.

“There are other rent supplement programs out there, some which we operate, and they’re also really great, but they typically don’t come with the clinical support,” said Ibarra.

“It’s going to put pressure on the emergency room, which is going to be way more costly than the supplement program,” she said.

More than $6,200 was distributed to support clients’ medical needs in 2025. 

“It makes no sense to be rolling this one back.” 

“We know there’s controversy around supportive housing, and affordable housing is really hard to build and subsidize. But this was utilizing units that are already existing in the market, helping people afford them. And it’s keeping people out of other medical programs,” she said.

Affordable housing hits 

Several funding streams, including the Rent Supplement Program, were impacted in B.C.’s budget this year.

The province’s Community Housing Fund has been paused, and funding for BC Rent Bank was initially uncertain.

The Rent Bank confirmed it signed a funding agreement on March 31, following the province’s decision not to allocate money for it in the budget.

The uncertainty around funding has left non-profits and housing organizations facing significant challenges.

“This is going to be a generational kind of impact that’s going to have for future affordable housing and for people living in this province,” said Lilian Chau, CEO of  Entre Nous Femme Housing Society (ENFHS).

ENFHS is one of dozens of organizations affected by the pause. 

The group invested millions to prepare a large social housing project in Surrey, meeting strict funding requirements, but with uncertainty around the program, much of that public and non-profit investment is now at risk of being wasted, she said.

“The provincial government also invested millions of dollars into these early stages to help these projects move along. The federal government also provided grants to some of those projects as well. And so what you’re seeing is just a total waste of money that has already been spent.”

Historically, B.C. has invested in affordable housing, she said, but the 2026 budget will undo much of that progress.

“It was disappointing that they didn’t have this conversation or discussion with the sector about, ‘We have a really tight budget, there are some significant challenges. What can we do together so that we’re not literally decimating the non-profit housing sector?’” she said.

She believes there’s a shift away from non-profit housing. 

“I think governments are looking for the private sector to provide some of this new rental stock. However, I think what they don’t understand or realize or maybe just acknowledge, is that the market will never provide affordable housing for those that really need it.

“That is why the non-profit sector exists. The folks that are most impacted are the most vulnerable.”