More changes to N.S. rent supplement program dismay housing sector workers

For Leigh MacLean and her colleagues at Welcome Housing in Halifax, the most recent changes to Nova Scotia's rent supplement benefit are the latest in a string of disappointments with the program. 

Last week, housing sector workers across the province were informed of a change to the program that helps low-income Nova Scotians pay for rental housing. A two-month subsidy that people living rough or in hotels could apply to while they searched for a rental unit was removed with no notice. 

"[Our clients] did everything they should have done," she said. "They filled out all the applications, they've been waiting on someone's couch or they're waiting outside in a tent. And they're being called this week to be told that the rule is changed."

CBC News received a copy of an email from Housing Nova Scotia staff, saying the two-month subsidy people could receive while waiting for a lease or rental unit "has been discontinued immediately."

The Canada-Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit is a joint provincial-federal program that provides monthly funding to qualifying low-income renters or homeowners.

MacLean said before the change, the two months of payments helped people have some leeway while they searched for a rental. They could have an idea of what their monthly budget would allow, and also use some of the money to pay a damage deposit or moving expenses.

Now clients will only receive a housing subsidy once they prove they have signed a lease with a landlord.

She's worried where this change will leave people in the current housing market. 

According to the latest rental market report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Halifax saw the highest year-over-year spike in residential rent in Canada between 2021 and 2022, with the average for a two-bedroom unit jumping 9.3 per cent. 

The vacancy rate in Halifax stayed around one per cent — the second-lowest in the country.

Second significant change this year

According to the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the province is currently providing 7,000 rent supplements across the province. In Halifax, the monthly payment ranges from $403 to $963. 

In order to qualify, a person needs to meet multiple requirements and fall under income thresholds. They also must be in "severe housing need." That used to mean spending 30 per cent of pre-tax income on a place to live, but that definition was quietly changed in January to 50 per cent of a person's pre-tax income.

In May, CBC News reported that 1,016 people were still waiting to hear if they would receive a rent supplement at the end of March, up from just 55 six months earlier.

"It feels like the most vulnerable people in our community, the ones that are struggling the most, that's where we're cutting corners," MacLean said.

Government response

In an email, a spokesperson from the provincial Housing Department confirmed the change to the program, saying clients now need to provide a lease before receiving a subsidy for their rent.

"During a review, it was found that there were clients receiving two months of subsidies in advance that did not subsequently provide a lease," spokesperson Krista Higdon wrote. "The change ensures that funding is going to those who are committed to signing a lease and provides accountability."

Higdon said the province "has a responsibility to ensure taxpayer's dollars are being spent responsibly," and made the change to "ensure fairness and program accountability."

She said clients can still show landlords they have been approved for the subsidy once they sign a lease, so this change should not stop them from securing a rental unit. 

Higdon said the department is working with eight people who are currently trying to secure a lease. 

MacLean says landlords don't want to wait for government funds to come through, and that will leave more people living on the streets.

"We've had those letters in the past and it's still taken three or four months to see the first payment come through," she said.

"Landlords don't really want to sign off on a promise, right?"

Rising homelessness

The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia tracks the number of people experiencing homelessness in Halifax, with data from service providers including Metro Turning Point, the Salvation Army, Adsum, the YWCA and the Out of the Cold Shelter.

It says the number of people considered actively homeless in the municipality has risen from 690 in September 2022 to 932 as of July 4. Of that total, 689 people identify as "chronically homeless," meaning they've been unhoused for at least six months or recurrently during the last six years.