Nanaimo Rental Supplement Program

 

What’s Behind Nanaimo’s Rent Supplement Program?

In 2024, the City of Nanaimo spent $150,000 from the Online Accommodation Platform (OAP) reserve to fund rent supplements and eviction-prevention loans. These programs were designed to help individuals and families at risk of homelessness by covering shortfalls in rent or providing temporary assistance.

The money was given to two service providers—Connective Support Society and the Canadian Mental Health Association—who distributed a total of 63 rent supplements and 96 interest-free loans. But how much of that money went directly to help tenants—and how much was used for administration and overhead? That’s not entirely clear.

Estimates suggest only about a third of the total funding ($51,750) went directly to rent. The rest may have been consumed by salaries, case work, and service costs. That’s not necessarily bad—these are complex cases—but it does raise serious questions about sustainability and priorities.

If rent supplements are acting as band-aids to delay evictions or support people just exiting encampments, we need to ask: is this the City’s role, or is this really the job of senior governments?

The public deserves full transparency on how this money is used. These are important programs—but they shouldn’t be immune from scrutiny.