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

With the cost of rental unitson P.E.I. rising rapidly, people on fixed incomes including seniorsare feelingthe impact of the housing crunch more than most.

Just ask Valerie Arsenault.

This past fall, the Charlottetown woman'slandlord took the names of several rentersat the Kensington Road apartment building where she lives, put them into a hat, and drewone out with the "winner" havingto give up his or her unit so thathis son couldmove in.

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

She saidit's tough to be losing the home whereshe'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 thecommission'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.

Arsenaultis on social assistance and saidshe 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 foodand 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, butwas given a few extra weeks due tosome recent health issues.

Landlord Gary Jenkins declineda recorded interview,but told CBCNews he rents his units for as little as possible and that his sonneeds 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 thinksthe 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, withtheadvocacy groupP.E.I. Fight for Affordable Housing.He said he's been getting calls from other people being evictedunder"personal use" reasons.

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

"Ifit 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 ofconsultations on a new draft of its Residential Tenancy Act. The current piece of provincial legislation is 30 years old.

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

Kelly said that isn't "really a protection" for tenants, thoughit merelygives people more time to try tofind another place to live.

Arsenault said she has applied for help underP.E.I.'sSeniorsHousing 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 forassistance from the Seniors Housing Programspecifically.

"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 Housingtold CBC News in an email.

If an assessment shows the applicant meets eligibility conditions, aftersuch things as income and current living conditions are considered,the person isplaced 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, shesaid 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, sheand 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."