Brandon affordable housing co-op fears $2M in repairs may drive up rent, force tenants out

Eva Cameron worries every day that her affordable housing co-op in southwestern Manitoba will move to market prices, forcing some people out of their homes. 

Cameron lives at and manages the 35-year-old Spruce Woods Housing Co-op in Brandon. The co-op needs an estimated $2 million in repairs and she fears if it can't get government funding, rents will have to rise to cover the costs.

"With the buildings falling apart, if we have to mortgage and we have to finance, then we have to put that charge on our members, which means it's going to be very difficult to remain affordable," Cameron said. "Where do the people go?" 

Cameron estimates the co-op already spent about $2 million on repairs between October 2021 and June this year, including a roof fix. But the stucco on the outside walls that prevents water damage still needs fixing — if it isn't, some units could eventually be rendered unlivable.

The co-op has pleaded with all levels of government to help cover costs to keep its 81 units, which house more than 150 people, affordable going forward, said Cameron.

Spruce Woods should be able to keep rents at an affordable level for another year or two, depending on how steep the repair costs are, but without financial help, rents will eventually have to increase, she said.

That's a frightening notion, says Noreen Mitchell, the co-op's president. Right now, rents range from $610 a month for a one-bedroom apartment to $823 a month for a three-bedroom townhouse with a basement.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data from October 2022 — the most recent available — the average rent for a one-bedroom in Brandon was $783 and $1,214 for a three-bedroom.

That data also showed a vacancy rate of 3.1 per cent for one-bedroom apartments and 0.8 per cent for three bedrooms or more. Spruce Woods has a waiting list of about two years for its units.

CMHC defines "affordable" rent as totalling no more than 30 per cent of household income.

Mitchell says those average rent prices would be a problem for many Spruce Woods tenants, who are on a fixed income or working minimum wage jobs. 

"I don't want to be … the person that has to go and knock on their door and tell them that they can't live here anymore," Mitchell said.

Maintaining established housing

Heather Karrouze, the Brandon city councillor for Ward 1, where the co-op is located, says while new affordable housing builds are needed, keeping existing affordable housing is also essential.

"I hope that the province will recognize the value of maintaining and repairing existing housing in the community and assist Spruce Woods and other co-ops in similar circumstances," Karrouze said in an emailed statement.

Many affordable housing co-ops face issues like those Spruce Woods is dealing with, says Jo Dworschak, the education and communications co-ordinator for the Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association, which represents community housing providers.

In Manitoba, only 11 per cent of community housing was constructed in 1990 or later and 23,000 units need repairs —including 45 per cent of non-profit homes in Brandon, according to the association.

It estimates the cost of building new affordable housing is four times more than maintaining existing housing.

Without that housing, "we are going to have people in society that are not going to be able to pay the amount that somebody else would," said Dworschak.

Operating agreement ended

Spruce Woods received funding from Manitoba Housing until August 2020, helping pay around 30 per cent of tenants' rent. Since that funding ended, the co-op has subsidized some tenants' rent while helping them access rent-assist programs. 

A provincial spokesperson said the Manitoba government is offering funding to support privately operated, non-profit housing complexes at the end of their operating agreements.

The spokesperson said Manitoba Housing staff has been meeting with non-profit housing proponents — including Spruce Woods — to share information about the new funding to determine whether it could help address issues they are facing.

Spruce Woods is working with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation — the federal housing agency — and has met with both the province and the City of Brandon to find a solution.

Cameron appeared at city council in May asking for the municipal portion of property taxes to be waived for five years as the co-op grapples with the repair costs.

While the city does offer tax credits for new affordable housing developments, there's currently no tax credit available for existing housing.

The city has talked to the province about Spruce Woods, as part of advocating for housing of all types, said Shannon Saltarelli, Brandon's community housing and wellness co-ordinator.

The city also applied for money for the co-op through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's housing accelerator fund — an initiative designed to promote affordable housing.

"We can't really help with capital, but we can certainly help with escalating people's needs and situations to a higher level of government," Saltarelli said.

The city is facing a housing shortage and there is a push to increase the housing supply — but there is also a need to maintain current affordable complexes like Spruce Woods, she said.

As operating agreements for co-ops like Spruce Woods end, "a lot of those groups have been left to flounder on their own … and have been turned into market housing," said Saltarelli.