A new $2-million grant program is looking to help non-profits maintain low-cost housing that would otherwise be lost to development in Edmonton. The Edmonton Rental Protection Program will offer grants to non-profits for buying and renovating low-cost market housing. Those homes will have rent capped at 80-per-cent of the average market cost. The city says it’s lost more than 15,500 units of low-cost rental housing in the last 15 years, while more than 18,000 households are in “extreme housing need” – defined as spending more than half of an income on housing. The City of Edmonton provides half of the grant funding while the federal government’s Housing Accelerator Fund makes up the rest. The program itself is modelled after the Federal Canada Rental Protection Fund. Eligible organizations would receive up to $20,000 per unit, up to a maximum of 10 per cent of the total purchase price, to buy existing housing. The grant would also cover up to 25 per cent of renovation costs. The city’s program can be combined with funding from the Provincial Affordable Housing Partnership Program, Indigenous Housing Capital Program or the federal rent program. Pre-qualification intake was open as of Wednesday. Organizations must pre-qualify before submitting a funding application. Applications are accepted year-round until funding is allocated.
