How much is rent assistance?

Alberta's Rent Supplement Program is funded jointly with the federal government under the Canada-Alberta Housing Benefit. It has two benefits: the Rent Assistance Benefit, a long-term subsidy for low-income households, and the Temporary Rent Assistance Benefit, a short-term subsidy for low-income working households or people between jobs. For the temporary benefit, the program page lists extra conditions: employment in the last 24 months, and not receiving social assistance such as Income Support, AISH or the Alberta Seniors Benefit. Confirm the exact wording on the page before you apply.

You need income below local limits and Canadian citizenship, permanent residence or a listed immigration or refugee status. Apply through a local housing provider (Alberta Supports: 1-877-644-9992). The Private Landlord Rent Supplement is closed to new people, and current recipients move to the Rent Assistance Benefit as agreements expire. The program page states no dollar amounts.

BC Housing runs several programs. The Rental Assistance Program gives monthly help to low-income families with at least one dependent child and household income before tax of $60,000 or less; clients reapply each year, and it is not available if you share a kitchen or bathroom with your landlord. Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters (SAFER) gives monthly help to BC residents aged 60 or over whose gross monthly income is below about $3,333 ($40,000 a year). Neither page states a benefit amount.

The Canada-BC Housing Benefit has no direct application: BC Housing selects priority-group applicants from The Housing Registry, and the recipient must pay more than 30% of gross monthly income on rent. The BC Rent Bank offers interest-free loans for rent, utilities, a deposit or first month's rent. The renter's tax credit is claimed on your tax return, is up to $400 a year, and starts to shrink above $64,764 of adjusted income for 2025 ($66,189 for 2026).

Rent Assist is paid with Employment and Income Assistance to people who have housing costs, and on its own to other low-income private renters. Outside of EIA you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, pay rent or room and board in unsubsidized housing, and be under the income limits. The page lists net annual income limits of $29,120 for a single person, $33,920 for a single person aged 55 or over or one who qualifies for the Disability Tax Credit or receives CPP Disability benefits, $38,720 for two people, $50,240 for three or four people and $60,768 for five or more.

You are not eligible if you rent from Manitoba Housing, get another housing subsidy, live on a First Nations reserve, in a nursing home, hospital or care facility, or in student housing. The amount paid depends on household size and total household income. The Canada-Manitoba Housing Benefit has stopped taking applications because federal funds ran out, but the page says provincial Rent Assist continues to support new applicants.

The Saskatchewan Housing Benefit is a monthly benefit toward rent and utilities, cost-shared by Canada and Saskatchewan and run by Saskatchewan Housing Corporation. You qualify if you spend 35% or more of your before-tax household income on shelter, have under $300,000 in household assets and are under the income limit. The monthly amounts are $210 to $390 depending on how much of your income goes to shelter and your household type (see the table above).

You are not eligible if you get shelter support from another provincial income assistance or training program, live in the Social Housing Program, are a sponsored newcomer, are incarcerated or are a full-time post-secondary student. The Social Housing Program, run by local housing authorities, sets rent at 30% of household income. The Saskatchewan Rental Housing Supplement closed to new applications in July 2018, and the government says its remaining benefits moved to other ministry programs on August 31, 2026.

The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit is a monthly benefit paid directly to the household, not tied to a unit. It is open to households on, or eligible to be on, a social housing waiting list, and to households in financial need living in community housing, with priority for survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, Indigenous persons, seniors and persons with disabilities. Your local municipal Service Manager helps you apply, and the Ontario Ministry of Finance decides eligibility. The amount is the difference between a percentage of average market rent in your area and 30% of your monthly net income. Eligible households may also get first and last month's rent help from the Service Manager.

Rent-geared-to-income community housing and rent supplements are delivered by local Service Managers. Eligible Ontario veterans and their families may receive up to $3,000 over twelve months through the Soldiers' Aid Commission for housing costs such as first and last month's rent. We did not review Ontario Works or ODSP shelter amounts, or municipal programs.

Housing NB runs several programs. The Rent Supplement Program subsidizes specific units with private landlords so eligible tenants pay 30% of adjusted household income; the income ceilings are $45,000 urban and $50,500 rural for a one-bedroom, $57,500 and $59,500 for two bedrooms, and $63,000 and $67,500 for three bedrooms, and you must also be in housing need. The Portable Rent Supplement is for people with a disability who can live independently, and follows the person rather than a unit.

The Direct-to-Tenant rental benefit and the Canada-New Brunswick Housing Benefit are not accepting new applications. The rent bank is a grant for renters in a temporary, unplanned crisis (for example, facing eviction): up to two months' rent to a maximum of $2,750, paid to the landlord or utility, one grant in 12 months, and it is a taxable benefit. Housing NB's phone number for the rent supplement is 1-833-733-7835.

The Canada-Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit gives renters a monthly rent supplement. It is jointly funded by Nova Scotia and Canada and funded until March 31, 2028. You can apply if you spend more than 40% of your gross household income on the average market rent for your area (not the rent you actually pay), meet the residency and citizenship rules and are under the income limits. People who applied before January 27, 2023 use 30%. People in public housing and people renting from family in the same building are excluded.

It costs nothing to apply, processing should take 2 to 3 months, and you must renew every year. The benefit can be paid to your bank account, or to your landlord or a trustee at your request. The government page and guide state no fixed supplement amount. Public housing is run by the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency, and the guide says rent will never exceed 30% of total income.

We could not confirm any current Prince Edward Island rent program or its amounts from a provincial government page, so we do not describe any here. The only official source we could read is an August 2021 announcement from CMHC (a federal agency) of the Canada-Prince Edward Island Housing Benefit, a benefit paid directly to households facing rental instability, with a joint investment of $40.7 million that was expected to serve about 2,200 households over eight years. That announcement gives no per-household amount and no way to apply, and we do not know whether the benefit is still open in 2026.

For current programs, contact the Government of Prince Edward Island directly, and ask what the eligibility rules and amounts are before you rely on any figure you see elsewhere.

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation's Rental Housing Program offers low-income rental housing to households whose income falls within set limits, including those paying more than 30% of income on rent and heat. For tenants whose rent is not paid through Income Support, rent is based on 25% of total net monthly income, and federal and provincial subsidies cover the rest.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Benefit is a portable benefit paid to the tenant, or to the landlord if the tenant agrees. There is no separate application: you apply through the Rental Housing Program. A 2023 Housing Corporation FAQ gave an income limit of $32,500 net household income ($65,000 in Labrador West and the North Coast of Labrador), so check the current limit. The government's 2026 budget release says $4 million a year more will add about 500 households, and 2,589 households currently receive the benefit.