Rent supplements not tied to vacancy rates

The 2018 provincial budget phases out the Saskatchewan Rental Housing Supplement (SRHS) on the grounds that higher rental vacancy rates make the program unnecessary.

This program was not created to combat low vacancy rates. It was part of a series of measures designed to reduce welfare dependency and help renters afford quality accommodations in the private housing market.

Before SRHS, low-income renters had to go to welfare to get financial help. Welfare landlords, with a more-or-less captive market, were paid by welfare regardless of the quality of their accommodations. Government was, in effect, subsidizing a great deal of substandard housing, especially in the inner cities.

SRHS is a rent subsidy that operates outside of welfare. The subsidy is paid to the tenant, not the landlord, and can move with the tenant as long as rental accommodations meet certain minimum quality standards.

Vacancy rates seem to be a red herring in the demise of this program. Rents for lower-income households do not seem to have fallen much, if at all, despite the higher vacancy rate.

The budget speaks to a possible new program to be developed with the federal government. I hope that analysts and advocates hold the province to account in the design of this program if it comes to pass. Saskatchewan should not go back to the days when high rental costs forced low-income households onto welfare, and back into lowquality — but taxpayer-funded — rental accommodation.

Rick August, Regina