End of decades-old mortgage agreements could mean rent hikes for hundreds of seniors, low-income Manitobans

Hundreds of residents at a Winnipeg seniors complexwill have to dig a little deeper to pay for housing starting this month and hundreds more could face the same financial reality within the next five years, as a series of government subsidy agreements reach their end.

A 35-year-old Manitoba Housing agreement with the Lions Place seniors building, on Portage Avenue at Langside Street,expiredas ofAug. 1.

Under the provincial-federal agreement,the province provided money to Lions Place that was used to subsidize some of the units while Lions Place paid off itsmortgage.

Now that the mortgage is paid off, the subsidy from the province has ended and Lions Place is looking elsewhere to make up the difference and that meanssome low-income seniors are on the hook for an extra $169 each month in rent.

• Seniors worry they'll be homeless after Manitoba Housing subsidies end

Joanne Knudson, 78,has lived in the building for eight years. Starting this month, her rent increases to $786 a month. She said that's a big jump for someone who has a fixed income around $1,600 a month.

"That's almost half of your pension right there," she said. "And you still have medication. Mine's about $130 a month. And I have TV and phone and I have my own computer."

2-year subsidy agreement

Knudsonhas applied for Rent Assist,aprovincial subsidy available for tenants whorentin the private market, but that money wouldn't cover all of her rent increase.

Back in May, the Lions Place board agreed to anew two-year agreement, which will see the Lions use their own money to subsidize tenants who need help covering the gap between Rent Assist and their monthly rent payment.

Executive director Claude Lachance says 65 tenants will receive this new temporary subsidy, whichLions Place can affordnow that it's mortgage-free.

"It gives them time to get accustomed to the fact that rent will be going up, and they can look at options and see if they want to relocate somewhere else," he said.

• Another 150 Manitoba households cut off from Rent Assist after income threshold drops

But things are different for RickBryson.He's lived in the building for 10 years, and doesn't qualify for Rent Assist anymore due to recentchanges to the provincial program.

Over the last two years, the Progressive Conservative governmenthas madechanges to Rent Assist,including changingthe income cutoff.That used to be $25,584 a year. Now, anyone making more than $23,040 a year can't qualify.

Bryson says he makes around $25,000, which means he can'tget the subsidy and will have to make changes to his budget.

"I can't afford to go out and see my grandchildren now," he said. "They're in Edmonton. So I don't appreciate that very much. Quality of life is going to be reduced substantially."

Moreagreements set to expire

The agreement at Lions Place ends as of this monthbut according to the province, there are 19 other buildings with similar mortgage agreements set to expire within five years.

These buildings include not just seniors homes but other low-income housing in general, meaning these changes could potentially affecthundreds of Manitobansof all ages in the coming years.

As well,Lions Place says itneedsto cover the costs of repairs now that the Lions own the building. That means the residence plans to convert its 287 subsidized housing units to market-value housing once current tenants move out.

That combination of changes is worrisome toRobAltemeyer, the NDPMLA forWolseley. He says other buildings have already seen their mortgage agreements expire.

He says he met families at one St. Vital building who moved out because theycouldn'tafford to live there without the subsidy.

"They had to go find another place to live, which can be horribly disrupting to anyone," he said.

"But when you have children, they may be yanked out of their school community. You might have to spend more time driving around the city to make things work because you've been forced to live somewhere else, because the provincial governmentdoesn'tcare about your housing situation."

A spokesperson for Manitoba Housing saysthe provincial government is only involved with these buildings because of the decades-old agreements.

The spokesperson saidthe building owners are actually in a better positionto subsidize tenants if they choose to, since their mortgages are paid off.

The province also notes that Lions Place is the only building it is awareof that's changingsubsidized housing units into market-rate housing units.

Regardless, Altemeyer says low-income housing is only getting worse in the province.

"We will lose even more affordable housing in a neighbourhood that desperately needs more affordable housing. We're going in the exact opposite direction."