N.S. defends $1.3M affordable housing program that resulted in 60 leases

The Nova Scotia government is defending a $1.35-million housing program that resulted in 60 leases over roughly two years.

A spokesperson with the Department of Growth and Development says the contract with the non-profit home-sharing platform Happipad was a success for the people who found a home.

Initial results show the program wound up costing more than $22,000 per lease, prompting criticism from opposition parties who said the government has failed to help Nova Scotians find affordable homes.

Department spokesperson Chrissy Matheson said in a statement that Happipad is one of many options the province has explored while it works to connect people with safe and affordable places to live.

"The platform was successful in connecting people, some at risk of homelessness, with safe and affordable housing. For those 60 people who found a home through the platform, it has been a success," Matheson said.

The purpose of Happipad is to bring together renters seeking affordable month-to-month accommodation with residents who have rooms to rent in their homes. When it launched the program in 2023, the government said there were about 130,000 vacant bedrooms in the province.

Matheson said that while the department knows of 60 formal leases made through the service, data from Happipad suggests 400 people "possibly made connections" outside the platform.

Over the course of the nearly two-year program, about 1,850 renters and 950 hosts signed up to use Happipad.

Last week, Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the Happipad contract was "always more of a gimmick than a real solution" to Nova Scotia's housing crisis.

Matheson said the provincial government remains "focused on delivering on our housing plan that represents a $1.7-billion investment that has cleared the path for over 50,000 units in under two years — with thousands more to come."