Woman being evicted

A Vernon single mother is being evicted from her home after receiving a pay raise – meaning she's ineligible for rent subsidy, but unable to afford anywhere else.

Kaylee Juniper has been living in her Vernon home since 2012. The house is owned by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and she pays rent based on a percentage of her income.

Now, she is having to pack up her things after receiving an eviction notice following notice from a new landlord.

Juniper has been switching between paying rent geared to income (RGI) and market rent while living in her place. She recently started making more than the maximum RGI in Vernon. The max is $50,000 per year for a three-bedroom apartment.

According to a CMHA policy, someone who exceeds the income limit can stay in the unit if its designation is changed to market rent, but this is up to the landlord's discretion.

"The landlord agent here has the discretion that he does not want to move me into a market rent unit, and he is forcing us into homelessness,” said Juniper about the eviction.

CMHA says it provides 217 units of affordable housing in the community, supporting over 379 people.

“We have an active waitlist of 307 applications. CMHA Vernon follows policies and agreements regarding affordable housing units and complies with orders from the Residential Tenancy Branch. CMHA Vernon does not comment on tenancy cases due to privacy legislation,” said executive director of CMHA Vernon, Julia Payson.

The maximum income for an RGI rental is $50,000 while the maximum for market rent is $128,000. Juniper says many people are stuck in the middle due to the jump in max incomes.

“That's a very hard place to be in the market right now because spending over 50% of your income just on rent is not feasible,” said Juniper.

Juniper has been applying to other places to live and says she hasn’t been able to find affordable housing. She has two kids, one with special needs, and doesn’t want to move because it’s the house her kids grew up in.

“I was living with my two kids in a one-bedroom for a year waiting for an RGI unit. Now, when I qualify for a market rent unit, I can't find one,” said Juniper.