City gets $230,000 for tenants in arrears

Hamilton has been given almost $230,000 to help hard-pressed tenants stay in their apartments.

The money, under the Rent Bank program, was announced yesterday by Liberal MPPs Sophia Aggelonitis (Hamilton Mountain) and Ted McMeekin (Ancaster-Dundas- Flamborough-Westdale).

Established in 2004, the Rent Bank provides people with enough money to cover two months of arrears. Help can only be sought once in two years and the money goes directly to the landlord. The provincial government says more than 18,700 low-income families have been saved from eviction by the program since its inception. To the end of 2008, $23.8 million had been invested in the initiative. This year, $5 million has been dedicated.