There are questions about disability benefit policies in B.C. after a couple living in a co-op said they are facing a rent hike of $920.
“The more money you make, the less money you have when you’re a person with a disability,” renter Amelia Cooper told Global News.
She and her husband, Aaron Busch, contacted Global News when they received less than a month’s notice that their rent would increase from $1,345 to $2,265.
The co-op board where they live had found the couple’s household income is too high to be eligible for a subsidized program but Cooper said their income is only “too high” by $2,000.
“When I make more money with my work, the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) income decreases,” Cooper said.
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“It’s like, at what point can we actually start advancing our income without getting penalized with PWD as well as housing charges?”
Busch said there needs to be an exception for people with disabilities.
“There are added financial challenges that we face on a daily, monthly basis,” he said.
The housing critic agrees there should be different considerations.
“They are right, that if you are operating within an environment of many extended costs around your disability, that those all need to be taken into consideration,” Linda Hepner, the BC Conservative housing critic, said.
The B.C. Ministry of Housing did not respond to those questions, but in an email to Global News, they said it is building more accessible homes.
The Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction told Global News in an email that is it continuing to ensure programs reflect the needs of people with disabilities.
“This is a longstanding discriminatory practice of the federal government on many of the benefits that they have for persons with disabilities is that it’s based on your household income rather than your individual income,” Bonita Zarillo, the former NDP federal critic for disability, said.
Cooper and Busch said they feel punished for earning a comfortable income and for finding love.
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