These housing issues are what Nova Scotia’s political parties are focusing on

Housing is at the forefront of many people’s minds as the province faces a shortage while experiencing high rent and purchase prices. It’s no surprise, then, that the NSNDP, Liberals, and the PC Party have announced their plans for housing as election day looms.

Following an announcement last week regarding their plan to lower the rent cap and scrap fixed-term leases, NSNDP leader Claudia Chender followed up on Monday, Nov 4 by promising a rebate for homeowners and renters facing exorbitant housing costs. A press release states this will save Nova Scotians making less than $70,000 a year around $900 on their rent or mortgage payment. They say half of all households in the province bring in less than $70,000 annually.

“For the last three years, the Houston government—like the Liberals before him—did nothing to address skyrocketing housing costs. Now, every month, people are forced to spend too much of their paycheque on housing,” says Chender in the statement.

Another announcement on Nov 5 saw the NDP announce their intentions to devise a residential tenancies unit to help solve disputes between landlords and tenants.

The PC Party similarly announced plans on Nov 5 to expand the province’s Small Business Loan Guarantee to apply to first-time home buyers, which will apply to potential homeowners purchasing a house up to $500,000 in value; these buyers will only have to to pay a 2% down payment instead of the typical 5% minimum.

“Down payments are one of the biggest barriers to homeownership for young families already struggling to pay the bills or make rent,” says premier Tim Houston in the release. “By expanding this program, we’re going to reduce the minimum required down payment for first-time homebuyers and the result will be more young families finally being able to pick up the keys to a new home of their own.”

The Liberals also announced their plan, looking to cut the rent cap, tie up the fixed-term lease loophole and reverse the decision to adjust the provincial rent supplement from 30% to 50% of total income spent on rent. Like the NDP, they also want to introduce a residential tenancies enforcement unit.

“One third of Nova Scotians are renters, and they are being left behind by Tim Houston’s short-sighted policies,” says Liberal leader Zach Churchill in a release.

The Nova Scotia Liberals, PC Party and NDP have spoken on their housing plans ahead of the Nov 26 election. Credit: NSLP/PC Party/NSNDP

NDP’s housing plan

New information on the NDP’s plan shows they are thinking about both homeowners and renters. Their proposed rebate would help tackle the rising costs of both home ownership and renting, though how effective would it be?

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Association’s 2024 report shows that the average rent in Halifax is $1,628—$19,536 for a whole year. If we take the estimate given by the NDP that renters would save $900 annually, the average rent would decrease to $18,636 a year, saving renters around $75 a month. It wouldn’t hurt, but whether or not those savings are substantial varies.

The plan to introduce a residential tenancies enforcement unit would help both tenants and landlords efficiently resolve issues, hopefully freeing up the overburdened tenancy court and legal aid. It would also see landlords face consequences for actions contrary to the Residential Tenancies Act, which some experts have derided as useless without a unit to enforce the rules, allowing offenders to repeat their illegal actions. While this may benefit renters more than landlords, it would also hold renters to account for actions they may take against the Residential Tenancies Act.

Alongside the rent cap cut to 2.5% annually and the abolishment of fixed-term leases, renting in Halifax could become more equitable if the NDP is given a chance to enact its plans. However, their plan to help renters and homeowners save money isn’t substantial enough to make a big difference on its own.

PC Party’s housing plan

The PC Party released details about their housing plan on Nov 4, focusing primarily on making purchasing homes more affordable. The main takeaway is that they want to expand the provincial Small Business Loan Guarantee to allow first-time homebuyers to take advantage of it. According to their press release, this would allow home buyers to pay a 2% down payment rather than the regular 5%, for houses up to $500,000 in value.

This would no doubt help those looking to buy a home when paired with the Down Payment Assistance Program, but it only encourages demand when there’s a lack of supply, and only truly helps the portion of the population who can afford to buy a home. The Houston Government has been active in developing more housing units, but many of these won’t be complete until after Houston’s term. However, they have introduced 10,412 affordable housing units that they say are completed.

As for renters, the PC Party is lacking in comparison to the NDP. They say they want to introduce new regulations for short-term rentals that will make more long-term housing, which sounds like it would target Airbnbs like they did with their provincial policies introduced in September. However, housing minister John Lohr has gone on record stating no one’s sure how much housing this would create.

They have no plans to address the fixed-term lease loophole, which they have refused to acknowledge, and are resistant to developing a residential tenancies enforcement unit despite paying $300,000 for a report that claims it’s an idea worth considering. Instead, they see it as additional red tape for landlords.

Speaking of landlords, the government took their side with changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, which saw them decrease the timeline for evictions and give landlords more reasons to evict tenants. With the tenancy court and legal aid groups already overwhelmed by the number of cases they have to handle, these shortened timelines only hurt renters who may not be able to find representation in time to fight their eviction.

If you’re a first-time home buyer, the PC Party’s platform might be the most substantial with the enticing 2% down payment. If you’re a renter in Nova Scotia, you may find their platform bare-bones at best.

Liberals’ housing plan

The Nova Scotia Liberals released details on their plan on Wednesday Nov 6, and much of it may look familiar to you. Like the NDP, the Liberals want to adjust the rent cap, establish a residential tenancies enforcement unit and close the fixed-term lease loophole. Unlike the NDP, they also want to establish a provincial rent bank for those who need financial assistance in affording their rent, and also reverse Houston’s decision to cut the rental supplement program to residents paying 30% of their income in rent to 50%.

Let’s start with the new policies. The provincial rent bank would see zero-interest loans given to renters who need help paying their rent when an emergency occurs. This is a safeguard against rental arrears, and it has been shown to work in the past. Their decision to bring back the 30% starting point for their joint rent supplement program is also a move that would help more renters save money, potentially enough to purchase homes in the future.

Compared to the NDP’s plan to adjust the cap and fix the loophole, the Liberal plans are not as strict. Rather than give a percentage for the cap, the Liberals say it will be adjusted to inflation—which is what housing advocates have called for—but giving an actual percentage they’re aiming for lets people better hold them to account if they don’t follow up on that promise to match it to inflation. They say the rent cap will stay in place until there’s adequate housing supply and a vacancy rate of 3%. It is currently sitting at around 1%.

The Liberals’ plan to close the fixed-term lease loophole has one potential issue. While it requires fixed-term leases to transition to a month-to-month lease after the first year, they make no mention of whether or not tenants can still be evicted after their initial lease is up. If that’s the case, the loophole would tighten, but it would still be present, and would nonetheless allow landlords to boot out tenants and jack up rent.

In their full platform released this week, the Liberals say they hope to build 80,000 new homes by 2032 to eliminate the shortfall; develop and support 2,000 co-op units: construct 4,000 additional non-profit housing units; and have Nova Scotian companies construct 500 mini-home shelters rather than go through the American company Pallett like the current government is doing. Lastly, they also plan to review the property tax system to see where changes can be made to help homeowners.

The Coast will continue to provide coverage on each party’s housing platforms as the upcoming provincial election swiftly approaches, slated for Nov 26, 2024.