Province seeks partnerships with private landlords to battle homelessness

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2023 (824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government is asking landlords in the private and non-profit sector to open their doors to provide permanent, stable shelter to people exiting homelessness.

On Tuesday, Families Minister Rochelle Squires announced the province will spend $3.4 million annually on a new rental subsidy aimed at converting 400 private rental market units to “community-based social housing units.”

A call for expressions of interest was issued at the end of June seeking landlords who are willing to enter into a five-year agreement with the Manitoba government to designate and rent units in their buildings to people with a history of chronic homelessness.

“We’re really putting out a call to all those who have units under management to see if they would like to partner with government to ensure that we’ve got some of those units designated to be social and affordable,” Squires said at a news conference Tuesday morning at Siloam Mission.

“We’re really interested in hearing from community, and I know many of the community partners that are here today are also looking at how they can apply for some of this funding.”

According to the government, the new rental supplement will be paid directly to landlords and will cover the difference between a median market price and rent paid by the tenant (based on 30 per cent of their income). Tenants are also expected to receive employment and income assistance and rent assist benefits.

Squires said she wants to see units identified, agreements signed, and tenants moving into their suites and off the streets “as soon as possible.”

“I’m hoping to get this done this year,” the MLA for Riel said. “We’re really wanting to move forward rapidly throughout the fall on this project.”

The private market agreements would be supported by an expanded, $5.8 million “Housing First” program offering services to tenants to make their lease successful, Squires said.

The province is seeking non-profit organizations that can offer rapid re-housing, intensive case management, and “assertive community treatment” services to support tenants in securing a lease and accessing health, addictions and mental health services as required, and to provide crisis prevention and recovery.

Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association executive director Christina Maes Nino described the province’s spending on housing and associated tenant supports as significant and positive developments.

For years, non-profit housing providers have been asking for provincial help to support tenants who are experiencing addictions, mental health and other challenges that threaten their tenancies, Maes Nino said.

However, vacant units within the non-profit sector are in very short supply and it will be a challenge for the province to find the 400 suites it is seeking, Maes Nino said.

“The vacancies that do exist in the non-profit sector tend to be in units that already have subsidies… or they are buildings that are owned by Manitoba Housing, and managed by a non-profit,” she said. “Those units exist because there isn’t capital funding to repair them.”

In Winnipeg, the vacancy rate for rentals declined from 5.1 per cent to 2.7 per cent in October 2022, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s latest rental market report. However, the supply of rental units was forecast to continue expanding this year.

“It will be really interesting to see what the uptake is because it’s my understanding from speaking with folks that the number of units that could be available for a rent supplement is limited,” Maes Nino said.

She expects for-profit landlords will make units available and the offer of supports will help them get on board. The province requires subsidized units to be vacant and landlords to accept tenants regardless of rental or credit histories.

However, subsidizing for-profit rentals must be an interim solution to get people off the streets rapidly, she said.

“The long-term solution is long term, sustainable funding for capital, for existing non-profits and building more,” she said. “There are going to be people who need social housing that’s really aimed at supporting their needs and the only way to get that is to build it or to buy it.”

Manitoba will also spend $13.1 million to spur development of 212 new social housing units, Squires said Tuesday.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Tuesdays

A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world.

Sign up for Dan Lett | Not for Attribution

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

A negotiated request for proposals will be issued seeking partners to build, acquire or retrofit buildings for social housing. The province is offering up to $150,000 per unit in financial support.

The province is turning to the private and non-profit sectors for housing as part of a multi-faceted approach to meet demand, Squires said, noting the Manitoba government is committed to increasing its public housing stock.

“We’re also ensuring that the public housing stock that we currently own is being maintained because a unit that is not available for renting because it’s been in the queue for renovation is a unit that’s not available, and quite frankly we have to turn those over faster and faster,” she said.

The province is also providing $850,000 in interest free loans to 11 non-profit and co-operative housing groups to off-set costs related to project development, legal services, environmental assessments and engineering services for proposed social and affordable housing projects.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca