NSNDP

October 16th, 2019

NDP: People should be able to afford a place to live

HALIFAX - The rising cost of rent and home prices mean Nova Scotia is facing a serious housing crunch. As people struggle to find a place to live, the McNeil Liberals have failed to build affordable housing or protect renters.

“Every day I am hearing from people in my community who are struggling to find a place to live. Apartments and flats that used to be people’s homes are being replaced by short-term rentals for visitors, contributing to the critically low vacancy rate in HRM,” said Lisa Roberts, NDP Housing Spokesperson. “There are solutions to the lack of affordable rental units, but they require a government that will take action to protect renters.”

The Liberal government has been slow to regulate the rapid growth in short-term rentals in Nova Scotia and with a low vacancy rate and limited new affordable housing being built, people looking for housing are struggling. The housing crisis is affecting many households, including seniors and families.

“After years of being able to rent in the North End, as a result of the recent storm: Dorian, I’m now having to look for a new place to live and may have to leave mycommunity,” said Sobaz Benjamin, a local Halifax resident. “The cost of a rental unit is far higher than it was and finding an available unit in my neighbourhood feels almost impossible.”

Recently, a number of affordable apartment buildings have been purchased and renovated, leading to evictions of tenants who aren’t able to find suitable alternative options that they can afford.

“When buildings are renovated in this way and people are forced to leave their homes, either because they are given an eviction notice or the rent increases by so much they can’t afford to stay, we end up with even more people in need of affordable housing in our city,” said Eric Jonsson, a housing support worker and community social worker. “Rent supplements don’t work when there aren’t units for people to rent.”

The NDP is focused on proposing solutions to the rapid increase in housing costs in Nova Scotia. New Democrats have introduced legislation to implement rent control, regulate Airbnb, and deal with rent transparency.

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