Rental assistance can come from different organizations depending on the province. Below are some common examples:
Alberta: Direct to Tenant Rent Supplement, Canada-Alberta Housing Benefit (CAHB)
British Columbia: BC Housing SAFER or RAP (Rental Assistance Program)
Ontario: Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
Quebec: Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) Rent Supplement Program
National/Other Examples:
Canadian Armed Forces housing support
Actor and performer housing grants (e.g., ACTRA programs)
Social service or non-profit assistance organizations
How to Set Up Rental Assistance in Propra
If a tenant qualifies for rental assistance, follow these steps to record it correctly in Propra:
Create or Edit the Tenant Lease
Go to the Leases section and create a new tenant lease (or edit an existing one).
Check the box labeled “Qualifies for Rent Assistance.”
Enter the income amount and income source (for example, “BC Housing” or “ODSP”).
Add the Rental Assistance Payee
Once the lease is created, go to the Manage Residents tab.
Click Add Resident to add the rental assistance payee (this might be a housing authority or organization).
Assign the Rent Assistance Payment
Because you selected Qualifies for Rent Assistance for the primary tenant, you’ll now see an option to toggle Rental Assist on for the new resident.
Toggle Rental Assist on. This will automatically list them as a payee.
Enter the amount that this payee will cover.
Review the Rent Invoices
Propra will automatically create a separate rent invoice for the rental assistance payee if you are on Autopay or if you have Rent Roll set as recurring.
The tenant’s invoice will be adjusted to reflect only their portion of rent.
Example
If the tenant’s total rent is $1,500 and BC Housing covers $600:
Tenant’s rent invoice = $900
BC Housing (rental assistance payee) rent invoice = $600
Both invoices will appear under the tenant’s lease in the accounting and receivables views.