Port Moody council urges province to renew rent bank funding as eviction risks rise

Port Moody city council has unanimously endorsed a call for the province to renew and expand funding for the BC Rent Bank, warning that the loss of the program after spring 2026 would put vulnerable renters at greater risk of eviction and homelessness.

Council voted Jan. 13 to send a letter to provincial ministers urging a renewed multi-year funding commitment and funding levels that reflect growing demand for rent-bank assistance.

Mayor Meghan Lahti said rent banks have become a critical homelessness-prevention tool in the Tri-Cities, saving both public money and people’s housing.

“The BC Rent Banks have been an integral part of the Tri Cities,” Lahti said. “It feels like now more than ever, we need to have this in place.”

Rent banks are non-profit programs which provide short-term, interest-free financial help to renters who are at risk of losing their housing due to a temporary financial crisis.

Coun. Amy Lubik, who co-served the motion with Lahti, said uncertainty over provincial funding after spring 2026 prompted the request. She said the loans provide a crucial safety net, while counselling and other services ensure housing stability.

“We’ve talked about the city’s role in preventing homelessness before, and the rent bank through SHARE Family & Community Services is critical to this,” Lubik said. “We want to make sure that all of our residents, especially when they fall in hard times, have that support so they can stay in their homes and in their communities.”

Lubik and Lahti both pointed to provincial and local statistics showing rent banks are far cheaper than responding to homelessness after the fact.

They said since 2021, rents banks across B.C. have saved an estimated $123 million in public and private expenditures; including $5.4 million in the Tri-Cities.

In Port Moody alone, Lubik said they know the Tri-Cities SHARE Rent Bank has prevented 64 Port Moody residents – including 28 children – from becoming homeless, saved nearly $500,000, and supported more than 12,000 people.

She said this type of funding eases pressure on public services, reduces health risks, increases family stability, and prevents educational disruptions.

Lubik also noted that demand is rising sharply. In 2025 there was a 24 percent increase in applications, a 47 percent increase in financial support being provided, and a 33 percent jump in the number of loans being issued.

Many clients are single-parent families, seniors, employed renters, and people with disabilities, she added.

“This is really critical for our residents,” she said. “Even though we are seeing around 500 units of affordable rental coming online in the next few years, when people fall into crisis this is really a lifeline.”

Coun. Samantha Agtarap said the return on investment made the case clear.

“This is clearly an instance where the money invested pays dividends multiple times over,” she said, adding that council’s support signals Port Moody’s commitment to remaining “a place for everyone.”

Coun. Haven Lurbiecki supported the motion but used the discussion to urge council to look beyond advocacy letters and focus more directly on local policy choices affecting affordability.

She argued council decisions sometimes undermine the very housing pressures the rent bank is designed to address, such as approving unaffordable developments with too few below-market units, or delaying passing an affordable housing bylaw for the city or updating its family-housing policies.

“Letter writing has its place. Advocacy absolutely has its place,” Lurbiecki said. “But every time something like this comes to our table, I just ask myself what it is that we’re doing here to make things more affordable in our city in the realm that we can control.”

The letter will be sent to the ministers of housing and municipal affairs, municipal governments and rural communities, and finance, calling for renewed and expanded provincial funding for BC Rent Banks before the current agreement expires in spring 2026.