CHRA responds to NB Auditor General's report on Social Housing viability

The Office of the Auditor General of New Brunswick recently examined the Province’s social housing stock in order to assess whether it can be maintained as the funding provided by CMHC to support social housing is expiring.

The Auditor General’s findings were grim.  The report assessed that the sustainability of social housing in New Brunswick is in question, even though more affordable housing is needed than what’s available now.

The social housing stock is at risk because of several factors:

The federal funding for social housing is already declining and will fully end in 2034. Funding is split between the Province, which operates publicly owned social housing, and non-profit organizations, which also owns and operates social housing.   Once this funding ends, the full responsibility for supporting publicly owned social housing will fall to the Province.  Funding for non-profit organizations that provide social housing will end entirely.  Non-profit organizations provide about 35% of all the social housing in New Brunswick.

The federal government has made no commitment to renew funding for social housing, even though it is already expiring. The impact will be felt soon; the Auditor General noted that by 2019/20, expenditures to the Province for social housing will exceed revenues by almost $50 million per year.  The Auditor General noted that this gap will require that either the Province pick up the slack entirely, that the federal government provide funding or that social housing programs are eliminated.

The social housing stock is very old, so modernizing and repairing it will be expensive, even though that is the only way to protect the joint public investment of CMHC and the Province.  Based on current spending levels, the Auditor General estimated that by the time the last funding agreement expires in 2034, the condition of the buildings will be considered too prohibitive to repair, with social housing for rural and aboriginal communities in the worst condition of all.

However, positive actions to-date have made a difference:  In the last three years, $51 million was invested in social housing repair in New Brunswick as part of the federally-led economic stimulus efforts. While this funding helped ensure the units meet an acceptable standard of health, safety and security for the residents, as the Auditor General underscored, much more is needed.  But the $51 million is an example of the kind of joint efforts that will ensure this important investment we have all made - social housing  - can continue to support families and individuals in need for years to come.

Click here to read the full Auditor General’s report

Fast facts about Social Housing in New Brunswick:

• New Brunswick currently has 13,157 social housing units throughout the Province
• The federal government provided over $40 million dollars annually to New Brunswick for social housing as recently as 2002.  Since that time, funding agreements have begun to expire so that the current federal contribution to New Brunswick for social housing is $35 million annually.  By 2017, this will decline to $25 million, with all funding dried up by 2034.
• The social housing stock is aging; the average age of the units owned and managed by the Province is 40 years.
• There are approximately 4,200 people on the wait list for social housing in New Brunswick.
• Social housing agreements, which have funding attached to them, have already begun to expire in New Brunswick.  Large numbers of the agreements will begin to expire in 2020-21, with the last expiring in 2034.
• Social housing provides affordable housing to low-income families, individuals and seniors. This is accomplished by subsidizing rental accommodations; tenants pay rent based on their income.

What is CHRA doing to address this?

• There are over 600,000 households living in social housing across Canada.  That New Brunswick’s social housing stock is in need of repair and ongoing support to continue to provide affordable rental accommodation is a situation that is similar right across the country.
• The report “Courage Under Fire” was jointly produced in 2010 by CHRA and the Housing Services Corporation. It demonstrates the serious challenges social housing providers from right across the country are having as funding from the federal government ends.
• Ensuring that there is continued funding from the federal government to support social housing is a top CHRA priority.  We are currently putting together an expert group to further press the federal government into action on this important issue.  Contact us to learn more or to get involved.
• CHRA is working with provincial non-profit housing associations, including the New Brunswick Non Profit Housing Association, to develop a tool which will help social housing providers understand the scale and nature of the situation they will face when their federal funding ends.  Look for this to be available in the spring of 2012.
• CHRA Congress 2012 in St John’s, NL will include a workshop on sustaining the social housing stock. Click here for more information