Across Canada, regions are struggling to provide housing.
An online survey has launched to help provide more data on housing issues across Nova Scotia.
The government is working to identify current and projected housing gaps and guide future housing policy and initiatives.
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr says government recognizes the entire province is experiencing the housing problem, but the needs vary from place to place.
In a release, Lohr said, “To make good policy decisions, we need to hear directly from Nova Scotians about their experiences.”
He is encouraging everyone to take a few minutes to complete the survey which will remain open until December 4.
The Department will also collect feedback from Nova Scotians this fall through a series of focus groups, interviews, workshops and stakeholder meetings.
The survey and housing needs assessment are part of recommendations made in the Affordable Housing Commission report.
The province is spending $35 million to support 1,100 new affordable housing units across Nova Scotia and immediately providing 425 new rent supplements.
Norman isn’t confident many of those new spaces will be made available outside Halifax.
“I guess it’s a step, but they really need to look; we need more senior housing, definitely, [there’s] a long-term waitlist for those,” said Norman. “We need more low-income housing through community services, we need more of those, and we just need more long-term affordable housing in rural Nova Scotia.”
Norman is also concerned about government’s decision to extend the rent cap until the end of 2023.
During the pandemic, the previous liberal government capped annual rent increases at two percent per year.
Norman understands the need to keep people in their homes but worries extending the cap another two years will put landlords in a difficult spot.
“I’m uncertain if I would want to be the owner of rental properties, especially rental properties of places that might include fuel or other things,” said Norman. “When you look at the escalation of, just a thing of paint or a new door or a new window. I think what this will do is highly decrease the apartment owner’s willingness to do any repairs whatsoever.”
Norman says she hates the thought that anyone is homeless in the Region and thinks it’s time the municipality formed partnerships to tackle the issue head-on.
“So what do we do?” asked Norman. “Do we all bound together as municipalities down here on the South Shore and sit and think, what are we going to do and take our actions to the province? Do we need to start coming up with our solutions down here? I think maybe we do.”
Premier Tim Houston announces efforts to combat the housing crisis. Photo Ed Halverson
Nova Scotia will maintain rental control until the end of 2023.
Housing advocates and opposition MLAs have been calling on the new government to extend rent control measures put in place during the state of emergency.
Premier Tim Houston announced Wednesday the measures will continue to limit rent increases to two percent per year beyond the state of emergency as part of an effort to address the lack of available housing.
Up to this point, the premier has not supported rent control but says it is necessary as a short-term solution.
“There’s been a lot of talk about rent control,” said Houston. “The long-term solution to the housing crisis does not rest in rent control. It’s been tried and it simply does not work, long-term. The only answer is more supply to meet the market demands.”
Government also announced $35 million in funding for 1,100 new affordable housing units.
The units will be based across Nova Scotia with 425 new rent supplements coming available now.
Those will be added to the 4,000 supplements already in place, each with an average amount of $327 per month.
Two months into their mandate, Houston says his government is trying to correct course on a number of issues facing the province.
“We’re on a train in healthcare and housing that’s going in a negative way. We as a government have to stop that negative momentum and then turn it the other way, in a positive way. These things take time,” said Houston.
Changes were also announced to the Residential Tenancies Act to provide protection for tenants against “reno-victions”.
Until now landlords weren’t required to provide any advance notice to a tenant who was to be evicted for renovations.
The updated legislation calls for landlords to provide three months notice to tenants in that situation.
Landlords may also have to provide up to three months rent to the tenant as composition for eviction.
The revised Act also says landlords may not charge different rental amount for tenants on month to-month or yearly leases.
Changes will come into effect once the bill has passed through the house and received royal assent.
Houston says his government is determined to be accountable to Nova Scotians and will tackle the issues facing the province head on.
“No more of government looking the other way. It’s time to act and that’s what we’re doing here today,” said Houston. “It’s a first step. It’s a big step with many parts but still only the first step.”
COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson
The Region of Queens is looking to keep the property assessment CAP in place, for now.
Nova Scotia’s Capped Assessment Program is tied to the Consumer Price Index and limits how much property assessment can increase year over year.
The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, the organization that lobbies the provincial government on behalf of their members, has been pushing to eliminate capped assessment on homeowner’s property taxes.
Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman says council wants the federation to put aside their efforts to eliminate the CAP program.
She is concerned lifting the CAP during the hot housing market will price people out of their homes.
“That program was designed to protect low-income people from losing their properties and paying excessive tax. When we look at properties that have quadrupled and ten-folded in their value, average-income people are going to need that CAP to save them thousands and thousands of dollars in increased tax,” said Norman.
Property tax is one of the only ways municipalities can raise money.
The tax is set as a percentage of a property’s assessed value, so the higher the property is assessed, the more money the municipality will receive.
By asking not to lift the CAP, the Region of Queens is actually receiving less money.
For Mayor Norman, the income is not as important as keeping people in their homes.
“It’s not about less money in our coffers, it’s about looking after the people who we represent,” said Norman.
President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities Emily Lutz says the CAP system has always disproportionately favoured higher income earners at the expense of those who make less.
Lutz says NSFM has proposed a phased approach to lifting the CAP, which would involve municipalities easing their tax rates.
However, Lutz says discussions around the CAP may become part of a larger conversation with the province.
She says the new provincial government is looking to overhaul their relationship with municipalities and that will include looking at how those units are funded.
“Our stance, at the current moment on CAP is that, we are sitting and waiting and seeing how discussions with the province around renegotiating the entire relationship between municipalities and the province goes because we are fairly sure it will be part of those discussions,” said Lutz.
In the meantime, Norman says the Region of Queens will be advocating keeping the CAP in place.
“Who would have ever assumed that everywhere in this province the increases in property assessments are going to be unrealistic. They’re going to be unheard of,” said Norman. “It’s just so important to keep that CAP, at least for now, to see where these land prices are going to go.”
COVID-19 has spurred home sales in Queens. Photo: Ed Halverson
Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic housing prices in Queens have climbed while the number of units available for sale have fallen.
Co-owner at Exit Realty Interlake Kristopher Snarby says that has created a sellers market.
“How things were before was that, there was so much inventory, it really was always a buyers market because the buyers would have 20 or 30 choices when they were looking at a house and now they’re down to only having two or three,” said Snarby. “I don’t really see it changing unless there’s a sudden surge of inventory.”
Snarby says sales between January and April of this year broke records.
Another lockdown in May and June took the wind out of the sails but Snarby says the market has already rebounded since July.
And while he doesn’t see the market cooling anytime soon, he says the buying frenzy has leveled off.
“A few months ago, in January to April we’d see if there was a new house on the market there might be five offers on it. Now we’re seeing one or two,” said Snarby. “So the quantity of offers coming in is lower so the prices aren’t going quite as crazy as they were but they are holding.”
Snarby says in the first part of 2021 home prices were 20 percent higher than the same period in 2020.
And a two-year average shows sellers are getting 40 percent more for their properties now than when the pandemic started.
Snarby says that jump is good news for people moving out of their homes but is putting others in a tough spot.
“It’s a horrible situation for people looking to rent or for first-time homebuyers who might not be able to be approved for a higher value property. It means that the properties that are under the $100,000 or under $150,000, they are selling very quickly.”
Snarby expects the trend to continue at least through the end of November.
He says anyone looking to buy a home needs to set themselves up for success.
“We always recommend that people go and get pre-approved. So go to your bank, go to a mortgage broker, find out what you can afford, find out what your timeframe is like. If you have that, that gives you an advantage, right off the bat. Then we recommend sitting down with a realtor, going through what your looking for and often times, if you do that, you’ll have an inside track on what’s coming on the market.”
