Until the end of 2023, rent in Nova Scotia cannot be hiked above a two percent annual increase. Premier Tim Houston announced the measure—a two-year extension of the pandemic-time rent control measure first set out in November 2020—today, following weeks of public pressure on the government amid the housing crisis. The PC leader, who has […]
Renting
Posted inNews + Opinion
Rent control extension is not off the table, says new housing minister
Extending Nova Scotia’s temporary rent control program, which is currently tied to the COVID state of emergency, is not off the table for new housing minister and landlord John Lohr. The Kings North MLA and newly-sworn-in minister says the PC government has not ruled out the possibility of an extension to rent control, which is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council wants HRM’s enforcement of bad landlords to have some teeth
At this week’s Halifax Regional Council meeting, District 7 councillor Waye Mason got a last-minute item added to the agenda, concerning HRM’s upcoming review of rental requirements. Mason asked for the review to include bylaw options for strong penalties “up to and including the maximum statutory amount”—which is $10,000—”and rapid responses to mediate any unit where […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia announces temporary rent control
You read that right. The Nova Scotia government has introduced temporary rent control measures to address the rampant housing crisis in this town. At a tele-press conference on Wednesday, municipal affairs and housing minister Chuck Porter gave the details. Here’s what you need to know: Rents cannot increase by more than two percent a year. […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
HRM hopes landlord registry will make a dent in the rental housing crisis
Clutch your pearls, landlords of Halifax. This week at its regular Tuesday meeting, Halifax Regional Council passed the second reading of updates to bylaw M-200, which outlines the standards for residential occupancies based on the basic foundation that people should live in a place that’s “safe, warm, dry.” The long-awaited move tightens the rules around what’s […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
An investment company bought my building
Though I’m reluctant to “air my dirty laundry in public,” to quote my grandmother, I do so in hopes it may help in some way to ameliorate others’ circumstances. The facts are brief and similar across the board. Much of my backstory is in the documentary My Week on Welfare by Jackie Torrens and Jessica […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Buyer beware: three rental traps to avoid in Halifax
1 Fixed term leases Fixed term leases are different from year-to-year leases. Instead of the standard terms, in a fixed lease the landlord and tenant can negotiate the specific terms of their lease with a fixed end date. If a lease isn’t renewed and the tenant is still there, it automatically becomes a month-to-month lease. […]
Posted inLifestyle
Everything has a place and a purpose in this Waverley apartment
R achael Shrum has an organized mind but she’s quick to point out that she’s not really a tidy person. Sitting on her massive forest green couch in the morning sun she says, matter-of-factly, “I just leave stuff around.” You wouldn’t know it, looking around the tucked-away second floor, two-bedroom apartment she affectionately calls the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Apartment hunting in Halifax is the worst
When I moved to Halifax in 2007, the first apartment I went to see was a $750 bachelor in the south end with no windows. The landlord told me he could put a window in “if I really needed one.” My friends and I joked about that experience for ages; it seemed ludicrous at the […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The results of The Coast’s first Halifax Renters’ Survey
Over 500 readers took our inaugural renters’ survey to tell us what life is like as a renter in Halifax. The results were grim, with housing affordability out for reach for over half of respondents, people paying more than initially budgeted and spending more than eight weeks looking for new apartments. Here’s the results:
Posted inNews + Opinion
Burning thoughts about renting in Halifax from the Haligonians in the trenches
We asked readers to share their thoughts about renting in Halifax, and they had a lot to say. (This isn’t all of it.) Who the heck are these million-dollar condos for? Location isn’t everything if the place looks like you’d need a tetanus shot to live there. It’s expensive compared to salaries. Bedbugs should be […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
North end institution Smith’s Bakery is closing next month
Smith’s Bakery & Cafe has been bringing fresh bread, major cakes and a top-notch lineup of squares to Haligonians since 1932. Let that sink in for a second. Yesterday, the north end institution and Halifax’s oldest indie bakery took to its social media accounts to let the world know that as of August 10 it would […]