How much should rent be?

[MamitaM]

If you're low income then how much should you pay fro rent? I'm looking for a new place in the next few months and will be very careful with where I move to so I don't have to move again. How much should I be paying though? Like what percentage of my money should go to rent?

[eirual]

The financial rule of thumb says you shouldn’t spend more than 35% of your net income on housing. (That includes mortgage/rent, condo fees/maintenance, property tax and utilities.)  

Taken from: http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources/guide_to_building_budget.html 

[bobandjess99]

There are differing typs of advice. 

My personal belief is "as little as you can" and under no circumstances over 25% of what you bring home.  I dont think that is workable in some places though, from what i have been told.  I also think it depends on if you are getting other forms of assistance.  I'm not sure what thety even have in Canada though?  Like here, a family can get food stamps, for example, so I would be okay with a bit higher rent if I knew I was getting $200/month in groceries covered, you know? 

[MamitaM]

I don't even know what I'm getting right now! I'm on welfare and they keep changing my amount since I had my baby 4 months ago. It's rather annoying but should become "normal" again in February when things settle a bit and I see how much I'm getting for my "baby bonus" checks on a regular basis and what they "really" are. So far I've gotten a few that are much higher then normal b/c it took a while to get them.

Also a dumb math question... how do I figure out the percentage? I know I have to divide something but how is done?

Wow! Ok, if I did it right my rent should not be more then $280 a month at %35 of what I normally get. That is not possible here at all or anywhere that I know of. My current rent is $400 and apartments starts at $480-650 for the size that I'd need.

[chely7425]

I have always heard the 30% rule but I think it depends on a lot of other factors too.. like your other bills.  If you have a lot of debt, or a lot of other monetary obligations then you should try and make your rent less, ya know?  My DH is military so we just spend our BAH on rent.

[MamitaM]

Is that right though? I just guessed that my income is $800 a month and %35 of that is $280. I'd never,ever be able to find a place for that cheap at all. Even if I just rented a room. That isn't y income though really just a very rough guess based on my last welfare check. It will be more then that but I won't know for sure until 2 weeks or so when things settle. Still that doesn't give me much for rent.

[chely7425]

TBH if I were only making 800 a month I wouldn't be looking for an apartment.. we live in middle of nowhere Louisiana with a pretty low cost of living and the not so great apartments are 400 a month, we pay 850 for our 3 bedroom.

[Arianwen1174]

Not sure how it works in Canada, but I would apply for housing assistance right away if that's an option! Seems like that's the only way you'll be able to make it. Here in Oregon the waiting lists can be years long in many counties and I hope it won't be that way for you. There's no way DH and I could make it without housing assistance. In general, the portion folks here pay after housing assistance pays their share is about 30%. Good luck!

[Maluhia]

What you are facing is one of the toughest part of living low-income where you can't work with percentages like 35% which are reasonable for others else you are completely priced out of the rental market all together.  Have you considered a house share?  Can you apply for housing subsidy? 

[MamitaM]

Originally Posted by chely7425 

TBH if I were only making 800 a month I wouldn't be looking for an apartment.. we live in middle of nowhere Louisiana with a pretty low cost of living and the not so great apartments are 400 a month, we pay 850 for our 3 bedroom.

What would you be looking for?

I will actually be getting more then just $800 a month. I just used that number b/c it was on the low side and it was close to my last welfare check. I also get 3 things from our government that ALL parents in this province get. I'm just not 100% sure how much and how often these 3 checks will come,except the $100 a month one. For the past 4-5 months welfare has been stupid b/c they send me a letter one day and it says they will decrease my amount and the next day I get a letter saying it will increase to a certain amount for whatever reason. They also assumed I'd all ready gotten something else from the government so they took something off for that earlier then expected. So for February I should know for sure what it will be until September 2011,then they will take off the extra $50 they give as a nursing mama. I'll probably get closer to $1200-1250 when it settles. The checks are new to me since my son is born and it isn't clear yet (but I do have an idea) what they will be and also one comes 4 times a year so I don't want to count that one as part of what I get each month. I did apply for a shelter allowance that gives me an extra $80 to put toward my rent.

I can not share my home with anyone nor can I move into a rented room. It just will NOT work for me at all. I've been there done that with roommates and it's really very difficult for me and causes a lot of stress, add a baby to that and it's even worse! I've considered sharing with another mama, even short term but that scares me too.

I called around to some co ops and left messages and NO ONE called me back, personally I think that's very rude of them. I also got the application for the low income housing. I'm having a hard time filling it out b/c I need to send my lease for the last 2 years and I don't have the one from the last place I lived in and there's no way to get a copy of it either ( I can't reach the previous landlord) so I have to call and see what else I can provide for them instead. I worry about the kinds pf people who rent in low income housing and the condition of the units. I've heard some bad stories about the places, like mold and bugs and things do not get fixed in a prompt manner.

[chely7425]

I would start by laying out all your bills (food, gas, phone, whatever you have to pay) and then seeing how much you could for a place to live.  If I made that little I would most likely be looking to live with family or apartment sharing with a friend.

[Sativarain1]

This is sooo difficult.  Rent is going to be such a large portion of our income, I've heard before that rent/utilities combined should be on about 30% of your income, but for many this is impossible.

You are lucky in Canada to be given so much help from the government, even an extra $50 for breastfeeding. wow!! That is really wonderful that your government realizes the importance of nursing. I'm in the U.S. and we don't have anything like that, from what I know of anyway.

Goodluck to you, I think with your income you'll be able to afford a smaller apartment just fine.

[MamitaM]

Originally Posted by chely7425 

I would start by laying out all your bills (food, gas, phone, whatever you have to pay) and then seeing how much you could for a place to live.  If I made that little I would most likely be looking to live with family or apartment sharing with a friend.

I don't have the option of living with family or friends. I'm willing to move to a different area then I am now, though this area is pretty cheap all ready. My current apartment is $400 plus hydro and is only about 225 square feet, so I will be getting a bigger one with bigger rent for sure when I do move.

Ideally I'd like to be debt free and have enough saved up for the move before do move. My lease is up May 1st, but I'll try and extend it to September if I can't find the perfect place by then. Hopefully this can be done.

I should be able to sit down in the next week or so with all my bills and figure them out. Also I should have my BIG credit card paid off next week!

[Drummer's Wife]

Is canada not similar to the US where most rentals require you to earn three times the rent? I guess even if you could swing $600 a month for an apartment, I'd worry it would be hard to find a place that was okay with only earnig $1200 a month in welfare. Speaking of, does this run out at some point? You should be making a long term plan as to how you'll pay your bills and housing costs without assistance, IMO.

[MamitaM]

They don't care to much how much you make as long as you can pay your rent. Maybe in some provinces it's different, but I've never had a problem with my income here and having a LL say no to me. I would like to make a long term plan to become debt free and have some savings. I'm working on it slowly right now. I'm also looking for a nanny job so I can take my son with me.

[HeatherAtHome]

Here are various programs for Quebec and Canada. Many have online calculators to give a general idea of amounts and lists the dates when money is given. 

[MamitaM]

Thanks Heather. I've just started to get what I'm supposed this month/February.