Houston government says it has high hopes for 'outside-the-box' housing programs

The Nova Scotia Government is hoping its partnership with Happipad, a room rental platform, and offering up to $25,000 to Nova Scotians to convert space in their homes into apartments will result in 820 new rental units. 

Two senior government officials said those were the goals set for the recently launched Secondary and Backyard Suite Incentive Program and its $1.3M investment in Happipad this past summer.

The funding will cover the fees normally charged by the company until May 2025. Happipad typically charges hosts five per cent of monthly rents and a one-time $20 background check fee. 

Byron Rafuse, the deputy minister of the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, used his opening address to the legislature's public accounts committee Wednesday to outline the province's main strategy to help people find affordable places to live.

"We know that in order to truly overcome the housing crisis we need more supply, and we need it at every level" said Rafuse. "We need to continue to think outside the box to come up with creative solutions."

The partnership with Happipad, as part of a two-year pilot project, was one of those. The online platform allows Nova Scotians with spare rooms to list them on the site and for those looking for a place to live to browse what's available.

Rafuse said it was an attempt to tap into the thousands of vacant rooms in private homes across the province.

130,000 vacant bedrooms 

"We know, from our analysis, that there are 130,000 bedrooms in Nova Scotia that are vacant right now and if we can free up some of those for an affordable option for people, then it will be a success," he said.

Asked for a specific target number, Rafuse said, "our target is to have 500 contracts in place during the assessment period, which is the two-year period." 

First launched in June as a way to help those displaced by wildfires in Halifax and along the South Shore, there are currently four contracts for rooms in place. As of Wednesday afternoon there were only 19 rooms listed on the Nova Scotia-specific Happipad site. Rents for the rooms ranged from $440 a month for an unfurnished room in Port Caledonia to $1,500 a month for a "fully furnished, self contained apartment" in East Lawrencetown.

Information provided by the province on Happipad's behalf noted 204 Nova Scotians with rooms to rent had registered with the platform but were still undergoing background checks. Another 569 people looking for rooms were undergoing similar checks. Once those are completed, rooms will be listed and potential tenants will be available for matching. 

The Houston government also had high hopes for the incentive it's offering for home conversions. According to Vicki Elliott-Lopez, senior executive director in the housing department, under the best case scenario 320 units would be created if homeowners maxed out the program's $25,000 forgivable loan incentive.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Elliott-Lopez said the 320-unit projection was based on Nova Scotians spending $15,000 to $25,000 on converting their basements into apartments.

"It depends on the level of quality," said Elliott-Lopez. "It would depend on how big the suite is. It could be a bachelor unit."

"But this is what our policy analysts looked at and put forward. It's a pilot program so if we find that those costs are more, we can revisit the program and the contribution."

She said at least 50 people have already inquired since applications opened last Tuesday. 

"For a brand new program that would be a significant inquiry," said Elliott-Lopez. "And before the program launched last week we actually had inquiries previous to that. 

"People are pretty excited about it."