Nova Scotia housing plan falls short for students, low-income renters, groups say

Advocates for low-income renters and students in Nova Scotia are pointing out gaps in the province’s recently released plan to cope with a predicted shortfall of 41,200 residential units by 2028.

Hannah Wood, the chair of the Halifax Peninsula chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), says the province’s decision not to commit to additional publicly owned homes is an “extremely weak” element in the plan.

The province has previously said it will work with Ottawa to build 222 publicly owned and operated units over five years, but the advocacy group notes there’s a wait-list of more than 4,900 households, and there’s little in the plan to ensure private developers include affordable units in their proposals.

Wood also points to elements of the plan that are unlikely to bring results, such as the government’s statement it will “encourage” tenants with disabilities to team up with their landlords to apply for funding to make their apartments accessible.

She says unless the government forces landlords to take these steps, it’s highly unlikely they would voluntarily spend time and money applying for the funding.

Georgia Saleski, the director of Students Nova Scotia, says she’s glad the province’s plan identifies a need for a separate student housing strategy, but she would like to see a commitment on when that document will be delivered.