The Rent-Geared-to-Income (RGI) is a housing program offered by UBC to make Faculty Staff Rental Housing more affordable and accessible to employees.
RGI program participants pay 30% of their household income before taxes and adjustments to rent eligible units within the UBC Faculty Staff Housing portfolio. You may be eligible if you meet certain employment, income and assets criteria.
Read through the following sections to check your eligibility and learn more about the program before applying.
Please note that we are currently over-subscribed for a studio/1-bedroom suite under the Program and that we are not accepting applications from applicants who would qualify for a studio/1-bedroom suite until further notice. We are only processing applications from applicants who qualify for a 2- or 3-bedroom suite at this time.
Eligibility
RGI Program applicants must meet the following employment, income, and assets criteria.
Employment
You must fall into one of the two eligible employee groups:
- UBC staff members who are:
- Full-time (100% FTE) ongoing employees with at least one-year work history; or,
- Full-time (100% FTE) term employees with at least three years of continuous work history with no breaks in service.
- UBC tenure-stream faculty members who are full-time employees with children and are relocating to Vancouver from outside Metro Vancouver.
Income
To be eligible, gross household income must be below the housing income limit for the unit type an applicant qualifies for at the time of application. Gross household income includes income before taxes from all sources for each household member 19 years of age or older.
The type of unit your household qualifies for is based on the Canadian National Occupancy Standards. All household members must be immediate family members, including the employee and spouse, and their parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, and sisters. Caregivers may reside within the rental unit only with the approval by UBC. Common household examples are listed below with more details found in the Program Details section:
- A single adult would qualify for a studio or 1-bedroom.
- A couple would qualify for a 1-bedroom.
- A single adult or couple with 1 child, or 2 small children, or 2 older children of the same sex would qualify for a 2-bedroom.
- A single adult or couple with 2 older children of the opposite sex would qualify for a 3-bedroom.
Housing Income Limits
| Unit Type | Staff | Faculty |
| Bachelor / Studio / 1 bedroom | $58,000 | n/a |
| 2 bedroom | $72,000 | $80,000 |
| 3 bedroom | $86,000 | $99,500 |
Assets
To be eligible to apply for the program, net household assets cannot exceed $100,000 and the applicant and their household members cannot own a residential property in Metro Vancouver.
Program details
Eligibility Confirmation
UBC Housing & Relocation Services (HRS) manages the application process, including the collection and verification of employment, household, income, and assets information. Approved applicants receive an acceptance letter confirming eligibility, the unit type they have qualified for, the amount of rent based on 30% of household income, and other key program terms and conditions. Once the applicant has agreed to these terms and conditions, they are placed on the waitlist to be assigned a suitable rental unit in the Faculty Staff Rental Housing portfolio, subject to availability.
ONGOING ELIGIBILITY AND Rent Calculations
The rent calculation is subject to periodic eligibility reviews and these reviews are conducted, at a minimum, annually. All households need to meet ongoing eligibility requirements to remain in the program and for purposes of recalculating their rent contributions.
Once a unit is allocated under the Program, there is no requirement for gross household income to remain below the Housing Income Limits to continue to be eligible. The rent contribution would be calculated as being the lesser of the rent calculation of 30% of gross household income or the full unit rent in the tenancy agreement subject to allowable increases.
Any changes to the rent calculation will be determined in accordance with the terms and conditions of the program and is not subject to Residential Tenancy Act regulations.
Unit Allocation and Tenancy
Up to 100 RGI units will be available to staff and up to 10 RGI units to faculty, subject to availability.
Village Gate Homes administers the allocation of units and tenancies within the Faculty Staff Rental Housing portfolio. Eligible units include studio, 1, 2, and 3-bedroom apartments in select properties. Excluded from the program are units in new buildings, 4-bedroom units, townhomes, cityhomes, and units with dens. Approved participants will be offered rental units within the Village Gate Homes inventory as turnover permits. Participants may decline two offers of a unit, but will be removed from the program should a third offer be declined.
Taxable benefit
The housing benefit received through the RGI Program is taxable under Canadian income tax law. The taxable benefit amount is the difference between the adjusted market rent as determined by UBC Treasury and the tenant rent contribution. UBC reports the taxable benefit amount on the employee’s pay slip for each pay period and withholds and remits applicable income taxes to the Canada Revenue Agency. The taxable benefit amount can be significant given the level of rent support provided by UBC through the RGI Program. Employees are responsible for understanding the tax implications of the program and can request an estimate of the taxable benefit amount prior to accepting a unit.
Maximum stay
Staff can remain in the RGI Program for up to ten years and faculty members for up to two years subject to continuing eligibility. After this time, or should the employee no longer be eligible for the RGI Program, they can remain in the unit at the regular rental rate.
National Occupancy Standards
The type of unit allocated to successful applicants will be in accordance with the National Occupancy Standard (NOS) requirements. These standards require that:
- there be no more than 2 or less than 1 person per bedroom;
- couples share a bedroom;
- parents do not share a bedroom with children; and,
- dependents aged 18 or more and dependents aged 5 or more of the opposite sex do not share a bedroom.
Common examples are described below.
| Household composition examples | Unit type |
| Single Adult | Studio or 1 Bedroom |
| Adult Couple | 1 Bedroom |
| 2 Single Adults (non-cohabitating) | 2 Bedroom |
| Single or Adult Couple with 1 child (full or shared custody) | 2 Bedroom |
| Single or Adult couple with child(ren) over 18 (full or shared custody) | 1 bedroom + 1 bedroom for every child over 18 |
| Single or Adult couple with 2 opposite sex children under 5 (full or shared custody) | 1 bedroom + 1 bedroom to be shared by the children |
| Single or Adult couple with 2 same sex children 18 years or younger (full or shared custody) | 1 bedroom + 1 bedroom to be shared by the children |
| Single or Adult couple with 2 opposite sex children over 5 and under 18 (full or shared custody) | 1 bedroom + 1 bedroom for each opposite sex child over the age of 5 |
| Single or Adult couple with 2 same sex children under 18 and 1 opposite sex child (full or shared custody) | 1 bedroom + 1 bedroom to be shared by the same sex children + 1 bedroom for the opposite sex child |
Apply
UBC Staff Members
UBC Housing & Relocation Services (HRS) manages the application process, including the collection and verification of employment, household, income, and assets information. HRS or a contracted service provider will verify and calculate gross monthly income and assets from all sources for each household member 19 years of age and older.
Applicants who meet all program requirements will receive an acceptance letter confirming eligibility, the unit type they have qualified for, the amount of rent based on 30% of household income, and other key program terms and conditions.
Once the applicant has agreed to these terms and conditions, they will be placed on the waitlist to be assigned a unit by Village Gate Homes within the Faculty Staff Rental Housing portfolio as eligible units become available.
Participants may decline two offers of a unit, but will be removed from the program should a third offer be declined.
Staff can remain in the RGI Program for up to ten years subject to continuing eligibility. After this time, or should the program participant no longer be eligible, they may remain in the unit at the regular rental rate.
Applications are processed on the 15th of each month and the review process can take up to 2 months from that date.
Please note that we are currently over-subscribed for a studio/1-bedroom suite under the Program and that we are not accepting applications from applicants who would qualify for a studio/1-bedroom suite until further notice. We are only processing applications from applicants who qualify for a 2- or 3-bedroom suite at this time.
UBC Faculty Members
The Faculty Temporary Housing Program (FTHP) program is merit-based to support entry-level faculty hires who would have difficulty with the initial cost of relocating their family to a city with high housing costs such as Vancouver. Applications may be submitted within 6 months of an accepted offer by the Department Head or Dean’s office on behalf of a candidate, or by a relocating candidate themselves.
Applications are received by UBC Housing and Relocation Services and referred to the Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic for review and approval, with input from Deans and Department Heads. Selected applicants will be asked to provide additional income and assets documentation for verification by a third-party service provider.
Upon approval, applicants receive an acceptance letter confirming eligibility, the unit type they have qualified for, the amount of rent based on 30% of household income, and other key program terms and conditions.
Once the applicant has agreed to these terms and conditions, they will be placed on the waitlist to be assigned a unit by Village Gate Homes within the Faculty Staff Rental Housing portfolio as eligible units become available.
Faculty can remain in the RGI Program for up to two years subject to continuing eligibility. After this time, or should the program participant no longer be eligible, they may remain in the unit at the regular rental rate.
Questions?
If you have questions, please contact us at employeehousing.help@ubc.ca.