CALGARY, AB: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Alberta government to amend legislation to empower low-income housing authorities to evict high-earners from subsidized housing units. The CTF released updated documents showing people earning as much as $170,088 living in Calgary Housing Corporation (CHC) properties.
“Subsidized housing units should be for low-income individuals and families who are unable to make ends meet, not for high income earners. These people are taking up units that legitimately poor families could use,” said CTF Alberta Director, Derek Fildebrandt.
The document obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) shows that 13 tenants living in CHC properties earned over $120,000, 31 tenants earned over $100,000, 84 earned over $80,000, and 369 earned over $60,000 over the last year.
“The CTF has raised this issue before and while the numbers are improving, not much has changed,” continued Fildebrandt. “It’s time for the province to step in with legislation that allows the CHC and other subsidized housing authorities to kick the rich out of these units.”
The CHC says that the Landlord and Tenancy Act prevents them from evicting tenants with higher incomes if they are already living there, effectively grandfathering them from means testing.
Tenants living in CHC housing do not receive the full “operating subsidy” that lower-income tenants do, but do take up spaces intended for low-income families.
There are currently more than 3,000 applicants on the waiting list to get into a subsidized housing unit in Calgary.
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