Red Deer Housing Authority (RDHA) subsidized housing tenants will be seeing a change in housing application and rent setting application procedures.
The Province has learned that RDHA applicants for both housing requests and existing tenants' rent renewal packages are now seeing additional information and requirements compared to previous years.
Tenants, new and old, will be required to provide a copy of their Canada Customs Revenue Canada 2012 notice of assessment, a copy of the previous month's bank account for all adults in the home, an income verification form, previous months' pay stubs for all working adults, and a new requirement since last year -- proof of tenant insurance.
“We have had some of these regulations in place since our policy book was done,” said Outi Kite, RDHA administrator. “Now we are enforcing them. Last year we introduced the tenant insurance requirement, which came down from the provincial government and this year, it is straight across the board. Tenant insurance is quite reasonable and depending on the coverage you chose, it can cost between $15 and $30 per month.”
RDHA operates 13 low-income housing units in Innisfail and an unspecified number of rental subsidies out of the total 550 in the agency's coverage area. Subsidy amounts range from $300 up to $450 for one- to four-bedroom units for qualifying individuals with a family income less than $53,500 (three-bedroom unit). Rent amounts are based on 30 per cent of gross family income and includes water and heat.
“Our rental amounts range from $120 for a student, with no maximum amount depending on the family income as long as it does not exceed the $53,500 in Innisfail at which point applicants do not qualify for the program,” said Kite. “AISH recipients' monthly rent is based on $950 a month income instead of the maximum $1,588.”
Kite added RDHA is doing due diligence on present clients and new applicants to ensure that taxpayers' money goes to where it is supposed to go.
Tammy Oliver-McCurdie, manager of Innisfail's Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), said she was not aware of RDHA's changes to its application procedures. She noted her organization is often called on to help Innisfailians with government paperwork and acts as a referral agency for RDHA.
Further information on RDHA and its application policy is available at www.reddeerhousingauthority.ca .
