P.E.I. senior can't find housing after being picked at random for eviction

With the cost of rental units on P.E.I. rising rapidly, people on fixed incomes — including seniors — are feeling the impact of the housing crunch more than most.

Just ask Valerie Arsenault.

This past fall, the Charlottetown woman's landlord took the names of several renters at the Kensington Road apartment building where she lives, put them into a hat, and drew one out — with the "winner" having to give up his or her unit so that his son could move in.

"I was given an eviction notice back on Oct. 4 because my landlord has a family member moving home from B.C.," Arsenault told CBC News.

She said it's tough to be losing the home where she's spent the last six years.

Arsenault appealed the notice to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission, which oversees such disputes, and won — initially. However, her landlord proved to the commission's satisfaction in December that he needed the unit for personal use, with his son planning to move in.

That's one of the permitted grounds for the type of eviction notice Arsenault received.

Arsenault is on social assistance and said she can afford only about $750 in rent, including utilities. She said she doesn't think she will be able to find a new place that fits her budget.

"Not that is pet-friendly, within the Charlottetown area, because I don't have a car. So where I am right now, I'm really close to the bus stop, so this is absolutely perfect for me," she said.

"People are renting rooms in their house for more than what I'm allowed."

Under P.E.I.'s Social Assistance Program, clients can receive a maximum of $794 per month to pay for a one-bedroom unit. That money is also meant to cover heat and electricity costs.

As of January, the province added $4.5 million in spending to boost living-allowance rates to cover food and other basic needs, but shelter rates remained unchanged.

Son needs a home too, says landlord

Arsenault was told she had to be out by Jan. 31, but was given a few extra weeks due to some recent health issues.

Landlord Gary Jenkins declined a recorded interview, but told CBC News he rents his units for as little as possible and that his son needs a place to live in a tight housing market. He said he feels sorry for Arsenault and understands she is on a fixed income; he intends to give her a good reference to aid in her housing search.

Jenkins also said he thinks the government needs to add more money to social-service programs, given how much rents have increased in recent years.

Arsenault's situation isn't unique, according to Connor Kelly, with the advocacy group P.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing. He said he's been getting calls from other people being evicted under "personal use" reasons.

But he doesn't think giving a unit to a relative should fall under that eviction category.

"If it is a personal-use eviction, it should only be the landlord allowed to apply for that," he said. "The relative shouldn't be able to take over their property, because it is the landlord that owns the property."

Changes coming to rentals law

Prince Edward Island recently finished a round of consultations on a new draft of its Residential Tenancy Act. The current piece of provincial legislation is 30 years old.

Under the latest draft, the required notice given to a tenant who is asked to vacate a unit for personal use would be doubled, going from two months to four.

Kelly said that isn't "really a protection" for tenants, though — it merely gives people more time to try to find another place to live.

Arsenault said she has applied for help under P.E.I.'s Seniors Housing Program, which offers either rental subsidies or spaces in government-funded buildings, but she has not yet heard back.

According to the province's website, there are more than 350 Islanders on the registry, waiting for help with social housing, with 88 of those waiting for assistance from the Seniors Housing Program specifically.

"After an application is submitted for seniors' housing, it takes approximately one week to be reviewed and then a housing officer will follow up on the application to conduct a formal assessment," the Department of Social Development and Housing told CBC News in an email.

If an assessment shows the applicant meets eligibility conditions, after such things as income and current living conditions are considered, the person is placed on the list as being in need of help, the email said.

We need to have more low-income housing, senior-friendly housing, because they are the ones falling between the cracks in the system.— Valerie Arsenault

People on the registry can call housing services for an update on their file, the department said.

As for Arsenault, she said she is still waiting and isn't sure what her next steps will be.

She said she is not comfortable with the idea of having a roommate, considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

For now, she said, she and many other Islanders are just a cheque away from living on the streets.

"What I think really needs to happen is we need to have more low-income housing, senior-friendly housing, because they are the ones falling between the cracks in the system."