Nova Scotia buying modular homes to rent to those displaced by wildfires

Nova Scotia is spending $7.4 million to buy 25 fully-furnished modular homes and make them available to rent for people whose homes were destroyed by the Shelburne County and Halifax-area wildfires.

In a news release Tuesday, the province said the units — which include both two- and three-bedroom options — will be affordable and in line with average market rates. 

Rent will be around $1,000 to $2,000 a month, depending on each individual's personal circumstances and location, the province said.

The homes were purchased from Kent Homes, who will also install and deliver them.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing John Lohr said the government is hoping the units will be in place by September.

"The hold up will be that the sites will need all the proper permitting and site prep," Lohr said.

In the meantime, he said his staff have worked hard to find units that will provide an option for people who lost their homes.

"It will fill a very big need," he said. "We know there's very little to rent in either area and really quite a shortage of skilled trades to rebuild too."

Lohr said the province is also talking to other modular home providers to try to make more units available.

Those eligible to rent a unit will be able to place the modular home on their existing land, if they meet the appropriate criteria and can accommodate the unit. 

The province said it is also "working to identify land with adequate services where modulars can be placed."

The largest wildfire in Nova Scotia's history started in late May in Shelburne County and destroyed 60 homes. Another, which started near Upper Tantallon, led to the evacuation of more than 16,000 people and destroyed 150 homes.

Red Cross reaching out to those who qualify

The program will be administered through the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency, who will lease and manage the units. Individuals will be able to rent them for up to two years, the province said. 

Eligible individuals are being told to contact the Canadian Red Cross for more information.

Dan Bedell, a spokesperson for the Red Cross, said caseworkers are also reaching out directly to those displaced from the fire who may qualify.

The vast majority of them are already registered through the Red Cross, he said, from when the organization administered Nova Scotia's emergency financial assistance program.

In a release, the Red Cross said that in the past five weeks, it distributed more than $3.9 million to those impacted by the wildfires on behalf of the government of Nova Scotia. 

About $5.6 million has also been raised to support those affected by the wildfires in Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada, not including matching funds from the federal government and the province.

Some of that money, Bedell said, will be used to help individuals cover the cost of renting the modular units.

Full details of the program are available here.