By Catherine Leviten-Reid, Migan Digou and Jacqueline Kennelly
Excerpt
Full article: https://rentalhousingresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Winter-Newsletter-2023-People-Places-Policies-and-Prospects-1.pdf
Research by the People, Places, Policies and Prospects node has found a clear misalignment in Nova Scotia between a rights-based approach to housing and the experiences of tenants in receipt of demand-side housing assistance, particularly those receiving the new Canada Housing Benefit (CHB) allowance.
We found that tenants in receipt of both kinds of financial rent assistance are living in units that fail to meet standards of adequate housing, as defined by the United Nations. Findings also show that the shift from the older rent supplement to the new CHB allowance represented a step back for the most vulnerable of individuals and families.
It is possible to correct for some of the flaws in the new CHB allowance program through policy design. Monthly financial support could be provided for utilities. The AMR cap could be removed altogether so it is consistent with public, rent – geared-to-income housing, or it could be raised to, for example, 120% of AMR, with research showing, not surprisingly, that more generous housing subsidies reduce rent burdens. To address the habitability of units, inspections could be conducted by government before and during a tenant’s lease agreement.
Beyond specific changes to the CHB design, legislating vacancy control would be a structural mechanism through which to address affordability challenges experienced by CHB allowance recipients (note that Nova Scotia currently only has a temporary rent cap in place, set to expire at the end of 2023).
To address habitability, a universal program of landlord licensing and inspections could be used instead of targeted inspections of units in which rent subsidy recipients are living. Such an approach would also address more systemic problems with the housing market. For instance, landlord licensing could prevent rental housing in need of significant repair from being rented in the first place and stop landlords from opting out of renting to subsidy recipients when repairs during a tenancy are requested. However, political openness to these structural changes is slim.
Also relevant is the state of the local rental housing market, which is chronically lacking in affordable units that meet reasonable standards of habitability. This results in constrained choices for tenants and housing workers alike, or no choices at all. Findings suggest that any effort to respond to Canada’s chronic lack of affordable housing primarily through demand-side programs is unlikely to succeed without substantial investment in supply -side responses that generate affordable and habitable rental units.
For more information on this project, contact Jackie Kennelly jacquelinekennelly@cunet.carleton.ca or Catherine Leviten-Reid catherine_leviten-reid@cbu.ca