One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit

The federal government has introduced a form of financial assistance for vulnerable tenants that would provide a one-time tax-free payment of $500. The Canada Revenue Agency will administer this one-time payment and the tenant will need to complete an online application to receive it.

We want our landlord members to be the conduit for this information that could benefit tenants who qualify. After an inflationary year, this assistance could help nearly 467,000 tenants across the province.

The application can be made as of December 12, 2022 on the following website https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/child-and-family-benefits/top-up-canada-housing-benefit.html

For now, tenants can prepare their application by answering a few questions on this same page. These include that eligibility is limited to those 15 years of age and older as of December 1, 2022, that net household income does not exceed $35,000 ($20,000 for a person living alone), they will also need to provide rent information.

The Canada Revenue Agency will administer this one-time payment and tenants can receive prompt payment through direct deposit.