Tenants in Transition

A walk through many neighbourhoods of Halifax Regional Municipality will show construction of housing underway in new multi unit buildings that have capacity for hundreds of people to live. The target residents for this new construction are not likely to be those most in need of adequate shelter. Fixed term leases have become more common and rent increases have not been capped at levels needed to ensure tenants can expect to be able to continue to finance housing which should be a right for all in Canada.

Transition to Adequate Housing

ACORN Canada news and events presents an article by Brendyn Creamer written for The Coast that reports the NSNDP promises to scrap fixed-term leases and lower rent cap if elected.

In a press release on Oct 31, party leader Claudia Chender said if the NDP form the next government, they would ban fixed-term leases. This practice allows landlords to boot tenants after their lease is up and increase the rent of units, effectively bypassing the 5% annual rent cap enacted by premier Tim Houston’s government.

Chender also said she would cut the cap in half, meaning yearly increases to rent would not be more than 2.5% of what tenants are already paying. She says she would do this immediately.

The release notes that rent increased 18% last year on average, and that the typical one-bedroom apartment costs $2,000 per month in Nova Scotia. They also said the vacancy rate is 1%. The CMHC’s 2023 rental market report shows that the vacancy rate in Halifax last year was 1%, and noted that the average two-bedroom apartment rent is $1,628—up from 11% the previous year, although other sources claim that it has only become worse in 2024. (ACORN Canada, n.d.)

Social Housing & Human Rights, a coalition of organizations and individuals advocating for more federal investment in social housing in Canada, reports that more than 2.68 million Canadians are in core housing need – unable to find a home that meets the acceptable housing standards of adequacy, suitability and affordability.

Adequate

Housing is considered adequate if it is not in need of major repairs.

Suitable

Housing is considered suitable if there are enough bedrooms for the size and make-up of the resident household.

Affordable

Housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30% of before-tax household income.

Some groups are harder hit than others. Women-led single parent households, racialized and newcomer families, people with disabilities, and First Nations, Metis, and Inuit households are over-represented in core housing need. (Social Housing and Human Rights, n.d.)

Andrew Lam  of CBC News reveals that Killam, one of Canada’s largest residential landlords, reports 'largest rental gains' on new leases in the company's history in the most recent update. Rents increased the most on new leases in Halifax, Saint John and Moncton.

Like other landlords, Killam boosts rents to the market rate when new tenants sign a lease, pushing the reported average rent increase above Nova Scotia's five per cent cap. The cap only applies to lease renewals.

Killam's financial results are an example of the overall trends we've been seeing in recent years in rental markets where there's been inadequate housing supply, said Neil Lovitt, a vice-president with Turner Drake, a real estate consulting company.

"That creates an opportunity for for-profit housing providers to raise rents to market prices when they have an opportunity to do so," Lovitt said. "They're … doing what any market participant really can do." (Lam, n.d.)

Andrew Lam of  CBC News reports that Killam Apartment REIT, based in Halifax, is one of Canada’s largest residential landlords, owning, operating, managing and developing a diverse portfolio of apartments, manufactured homes and seasonal properties.

The Killiamreit website presents information about their Affordable Housing.

We’re committed to providing clean, safe, accessible housing for everyone, regardless of age, background or income level. That’s why Killam partners with many non-profit housing and government agencies to offer over 800 subsidized units in our communities. (Killam Apartment REIT, n.d.)

Subsidized units in Nova Scotia may be a good long term solution to our housing needs. The work to date to provide “pallet homes” has begun a transition from living rough and tent communities to more adequate housing.

Pallet Home Community

Michael Tutton of the Canadian Press reports for CBC News on a $630,000 installation in Lower Sackville that includes 19 sleeping units, separate washrooms and a laundry facility. Jim Gunn, a board member of Beacon House Shelter, describes the boxy 70-square-foot Pallet shelters — carrying the name of the U.S. company that makes them — as a temporary solution.

"Our greatest concern is that these should never become and be seen as permanent, but there's no affordable housing," the retired educator said during a recent tour of the property in Lower Sackville, about three weeks after it opened. "These shelters will stay here until we find someplace else people can go." (Tutton, 2024)

Cassidy McMackon, of the Canadian Press, writing for Global News reports that a village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

A Village of Tiny Homes

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, the community entity of the federal Reaching Home program for Halifax and rural Nova Scotia. The main objective of Reaching Home is to streamline access to housing and supports for people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, by coordinating local services to achieve community-wide outcomes using real-time data. 

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave. (McMackon, 2024)

The work to address homelessness in Nova Scotia is not complete.

The Right to Adequate Housing

The right to housing is honoured when people can transition from “pallet homes” and a Tiny home village to subsidized accommodation like that just across Cobequid Road in a modern apartment building.

Transition from “pallet homes” and a Tiny home village to adequate accomodation

References

ACORN Canada. (n.d.). The Coast: NSNDP promises to scrap fixed-term leases and lower rent cap if elected. ACORN Canada News and Events. https://acorncanada.org/news/the-coast-nsndp-promises-to-scrap-fixed-term-leases-and-lower-rent-cap-if-elected/ 

Killam Apartment REIT. (n.d.). KIlliam's Approach. Home | killam. Retrieved November 26, 2024, from https://killamreit.com/killams-approach 

Lam, A. (n.d.). Killam reports 'largest rental gains' on new leases in company's history in most recent update. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/killam-reit-2024-q3-financial-results-1.7390918?cmp=rss 

McMackon, C. (2024, October 24). Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb - Halifax | Globalnews.ca. Global News. Retrieved November 26, 2024, from https://globalnews.ca/news/10828781/tiny-home-village-halifax-suburb/ 

Social Housing and Human Rights. (n.d.). Housing is a human right. https://www.moresocialhousing.ca/ 

Tutton, M. (2024, March 18). Tiny shelter community in Halifax suburb up and running, as province seeks new sites. CBC. Retrieved November 26, 2024, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/pallet-shelters-halifax-nova-scotia-installed-1.7147652 

Trend to Reduce Help with Affordable Housing

Supporters of action to build more non-market homes, end fixed-term leases, and initiate real rent control gathered at the NS Legislature to advocate for housing justice.

Rally to Advocate for Housing Justice for all

In July of 2022, the Government of Nova Scotia issued a press release about a new lending program to support affordable housing. The challenge to reduce the suffering of the homeless in our community requires action that creates homes for people in the most expeditious way. The market is not likely to be able to provide units quickly enough that are deeply affordable.

 

“We heard about some of the challenges non-profits face when they see an opportunity to invest in affordable housing, and this new lending program will help preserve and increase affordable housing stock for people and families in need,” said Minister Lohr. “We have seen rental properties purchased by investors and heard the stories of rents being increased out of reach for existing tenants. This program not only prevents further gentrification and loss of affordable housing but also ensures tenants can continue to live in their homes.” (New Lending Program Supports Affordable Housing, 2022)

Unfortunately media reports since July 2022 point to a decreasing response by government to the need to reduce the suffering of the homeless.

Timeline of Media Reports

Date	Media Report
2022, July 13	New Lending Program Supports Affordable Housing. Government of Nova Scotia.
2022, November 15	Correspondence from Councillor Mason to Minister Lohr Regarding Housing
2022, November 30	Dalhousie Legal Aid Sees Caseload Balloon As Halifax's Housing Crisis Deepens
2023, January 25	N.S. government to consider proposal that includes new public housing.
2023, April 5	N.S. government says it's not planning to build new public housing, but will upgrade existing buildings.

Halifax Councillor Waye Mason has expressed that in this time of likely global housing price collapse, high interest rates, and recession we are in need of the government to help preserve our labour force by funding affordable housing construction. His concerns have been expressed in a letter to Nova Scotia Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, John Lohr.

Finally and most importantly, you are responsible for affordable housing construction in Nova Scotia.  In the election, Premier Houston promised to deliver the Affordable Housing Commission report.  That report talks extensively about the need for social or below-market housing.   I say again to you Minister, the market will not produce below-market housing.

You need to have a massive plan to build affordable housing, and you needed it a year ago.  With the coming global housing price collapse, high-interest rates and recession, there has never been a better time for the government to help preserve our labour force by funding affordable housing construction. (Mason, 2022)

Dalhousie Legal Aid believes three major things must happen to protect renters in Nova Scotia.

investment in more public and non-profit housing, active enforcement of the law regarding residential tenancies, and some form of permanent rent cap. (Montague, 2022)

Deputy housing minister Paul Lafleche told members of the legislature's public accounts committee  that the level of need for market rate housing and affordable units is such that all options must be considered.

That could mean the provincial government building new affordable housing stock for the first time in years.

"We probably need some new public housing," Lafleche told the MLAs.

For years, the housing file has suffered from a lack of consistent people in leadership roles and being shuffled between government departments, Lafleche said.

Making housing the responsibility of a single provincewide agency, which recently happened, should help address long-standing needs that have gone unaddressed by previous governments, he said.

More than 6,500 N.S. households are waiting for public housing. Why are so many units still empty?

Non-profits have 'a lot of hope' after N.S. government puts more money into affordable housing

But the deputy minister also cautioned that no single approach is going to solve the issue and fixes will not come quickly.

Other options the cabinet will be asked to consider include further partnerships with the private sector, buying new buildings to be repurposed, and assessing what existing provincial stock can get by with renovations and what situations would require new builds. (Gorman, 2023)

Need for affordable public housing

The Nova Scotia government has no plans to add to its public housing stock, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr confirmed to members of the legislature.

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr made the comment during debate on his department's budget.

"We feel that, as government, we need to do a much better job managing what we have," he said later in an interview at Province House in Halifax.

Lohr's deputy minister speculated earlier this year that the age of existing stock and cost and difficulty of upgrading it could lead the government to build new public housing for the first time in close to 30 years.

But Lohr said the government will instead spend $50 million in the next four years to upgrade existing stock, a plan that will affect about 75 per cent of the province's 11,000 public housing units.

The government is also using the spring budget to add 1,000 rent supplements and funding for programs that help people remain in their homes, said Lohr.

"We've made very significant investments in those."

Even with those initiatives, however, there are 4,790 people waiting for a spot in public housing and the average wait time is a little more than two years. (Gorman, 2023)

With thousands of Nova Scotia people waiting for justice in housing through access to public deeply affordable accommodation, the trend for action by the Nova Scotia government seems to be ensuring the suffering continues for the least advantaged in our community.

References

Gorman, M. (2023, January 25). N.S. government to consider proposal that includes new public housing. CBC. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/affordable-housing-government-private-sector-development-1.6726190 

Gorman, M. (2023, April 5). N.S. government says it's not planning to build new public housing, but will upgrade existing buildings. CBC. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/public-housing-john-lohr-affordable-1.6801864 

Mason, W. (2022, November 15). Correspondence from Councillor Mason to Minister Lohr Regarding Housing. Waye Mason, Councillor. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from https://wayemason.ca/2022/11/15/correspondence-from-councillor-mason-to-minister-lohr-regarding-housing/ 

Montague, D. (2022, November 30). Dalhousie Legal Aid Sees Caseload Balloon As Halifax's Housing Crisis Deepens. Huddle.Today. Retrieved November 30, 2022, from https://huddle.today/2022/11/29/dalhousie-legal-aid-sees-caseload-balloon-as-halifaxs-housing-crisis-deepens/ 

New Lending Program Supports Affordable Housing. (2022, July 13). Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220713002