Rent supplement changes coming after hundreds in N.S. receive more than their actual rent

Changes are being made to a joint provincial-federal rent supplement program after hundreds of its clients in Nova Scotia received payments that exceeded their actual rent.

The province said about 860 applicants currently receive benefits that are higher than the amount they pay for rent, under the Canada-Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit, a program introduced to help people struggling with rising rental costs during the housing crisis.

"I think that's been going on since the program was designed," said John Lohr, Nova Scotia's minister of housing and municipal affairs. He said the average overpayment is about $145 a month.

Lohr said the issue is a result of a formula implemented in October 2020 that made calculations based on the average monthly rent in a given area.

That will now be changed to reflect each applicant's actual rent.

"In the beginning of this program, the federal government wanted it based on average market rents," Lohr said. "So if you were considerably less than average market rent, and we're basing a calculation on average market rate, you could receive more."

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a partner in the program, lists the average market rent for a one-bedroom unit in Halifax at $1,382 per month.

Income threshold being lowered to increase eligible renters

The province is also changing the program's income threshold with the goal of increasing the number of people who qualify, Lohr said.

To be eligible, people will have to spend 40 per cent or more of their household income on rent.

That's down from the previous threshold of 50 per cent, which was introduced in January last year and was heavily criticized by housing advocates who said only those in the lowest income brackets would qualify.

Lohr said it's expected the lower threshold could make the program accessible to an additional 1,000 Nova Scotians.

The program now benefits about 8,500 households.

'Terrible decision'

Opposition politicians said the changes are still not enough to help people deal with the desperate housing situation across the province.

"I think it shows perhaps that the program was not being as rigorously examined as it should have been," said Liberal housing critic Braedon Clark.

He said the threshold should be 30 per cent of a household's income, which is what it used to be.

"The change from 30 per cent of income to 50 per cent was, I think, a terrible decision," he said. "I would still like to see that threshold move back to 30 per cent so that more people become eligible."

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said changes were necessary because the government did not get things right in the first place.

Calls for more affordable housing

However, she is calling for more substantial measures.

"We need affordable housing. Until we have that affordable housing supply, until we prioritize that, we have these stopgaps," Chender said.

The threshold reduction is better than a "kick in the knee," Chender said. But it should never have been increased above 30 per cent to begin with, she said.

 "We think that this program needs to be as generous as possible so that people can stay in their homes and have a roof over their heads."

Starting in December, those receiving more in rent supplements than they are paying will see the benefit adjusted. 

The province said the move to the new formula will be phased in over three years so people have time to adjust.