Halifax Housing Needs AssessmentPlanning & Development

CDAC October 28, 2015

Date

Housing & Homelessness Partnership• The Halifax Housing and Homelessness Partnership is a multi-

stakeholder coalition committed to working together to put an end to homelessness and housing poverty in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

• The Partnership is committed to evidence-based approaches to developing solutions.

• Project identified by the Affordable Housing Working Group• Study undertaken by SHS Consulting in partnership with CBCL

and Jozsa Economics (Nov. 2014 – July 2015)

Housing Needs Assessment

Research Questions

Study Geographies

• Regional Centre • Halifax Urban • Dartmouth Urban • Bedford/Sackville

Urban • Commuter West • Commuter North • Commuter East • Rural

Res./Agricultural

Housing DemandIndicator HRM Regional Centre

Population Growth (2001-2011) 9% 2.2%

Household Growth (2001-2011) 14.3% 3.7%

Change in Population 0-24 yrs -1% -1%

Change in Population > 65 yrs 29% -8%

% Homeowners 62.8% 35.9%

% 1 & 2 Person Households 65% 78.1%

% Households Couples with Children

25.3% 13.4%

% Households led by Aboriginal person

2.3% 2.8%

% Households led by immigrant 8.8% 9.9%

% Households with member with a disability

12.6% 11%

Housing DemandIndicator HRM Regional Centre

Unemployment Rate (2011) 7% 9%

Average Household Income (2011)

$ 76,193 $63,860

Median Household Income (2011)

$62,049 $44,827

% change 2001-2011 32.2% 28%

% Households in first 3 income deciles (2011)

30% 43.5%

% Renter households with incomes in first 3 income deciles (2011)

52.9% 57.9%

Housing Supply Indicator HRM Regional Centre

% Change in dwelling # (2001-2011)

14.3% 3.7%

% Apartment starts of total starts (2014)

60.6% 94.7%

% Housing stock built prior to 1980 (2011)

52.3% 74.4%

% Housing stock requiring major repairs (2011)

7.4% 10.1%

Average house price SUD (2014) $279,294 $330,556

Vacancy rates (2014) 3.8% 3.5% (apts); 10.8% row

Average rent in 2014 (all bedroom types)

$936 $933

# Res. properties with 2 or 3 dwellings (2014)

7,077 (4%) 3,608 (13.1%)

Student housing units (est) 3,449 3,202

Housing Continuum

4% 34% 62%

Affordability Analysis (2011)• 41,785 households (25.2%) spent 30% or more of

household income on housing costs • 26,215 (47%) of these were renters & 15,570

(15%) were owner households• 19,570 households (1 in 8) were spending 50%

or more of household income on housing • Core housing need is another measure of housing

affordability – in 2011 20,415 households (13%) were in core housing need

How does Halifax compare?  Paying >30% Core Housing

Need

Canada 25.2% 12.5%

Nova Scotia 22.0% 12.5%

Halifax - CMA 25.4% 13%

St. John's - CMA 21.6% 11.9%

Moncton - CMA 21.9% 9.5%

Québec - CMA 20.1% 8.6%

London - CMA 26.4% 12.9%

Regina - CMA 22.1% 12.0%

Edmonton - CMA 23.7% 11.3%

Victoria - CMA 31.1% 14.7%

Source: SHS, 2015 and 2011 Census

Where is the greatest need? > 30% > 50%

Halifax CMA 25.3% 11.8%

Regional Centre 37.9% 19.4%

Halifax Urban 27.6% 12.3%

Dartmouth Urban 17.1% 6.5%

Bedford/ Sackville Urban 18.7% 7.7%

Commuter East 14.6% 5.7%

Commuter North 13.5% 5.9%

Commuter West 14.0% 7.2%

Rural Resource/ Agricultural 17.9% 8.9%

Source: SHS, 2015 based on 2011 Census

Who needs non-market housing? 33,070 households (20% of all households) earning

less than $29,566 were spending 30% or more of their incomes on housing costs & can’t afford average market rent without paying more than 30%

15,195 households (45% of the 33,070 households) had incomes of less than $17,065 per year.

Housing & Income Continuum

Households with Low Incomes• 29.9% of all lone parent households

• 43.1% of all one-person households

• 32.1% of all recent immigrant households

• 27.2% of all households with a person who has a disability

• 27.9% of all households led by an Aboriginal person

• 50.4% of all youth households (those led by someone aged 15 to 24 years)

• 26% of all senior-led households (those aged 65 years and over)

• 37.4% of all renter households

Input from Housing Service Providers • Need more housing options which are affordable and

safe

• Need for more long term care/ nursing home beds

• Groups with particular challenges include: low income individuals and persons with mental health issues, addctions and/or concurrent disorders

• Current programs do not address the needs of larger families prevalent in diverse communities

• Opportunities: a more coordinated approach to providing housing and supports

• Barriers: lack of funding and increasing cost of housing

Input from Private Sector • Rental housing affordability a key issue • Social assistance is inadequate to afford housing• There is a sufficient amount of housing units,

particularly rental housing units• The gap is in the supply of housing which is

affordable to households with lower incomes• Opportunities: stimulate the creation of housing

through a rental subsidy program• Barriers: planning barriers; restrictive policies;

lengthy planning approval process; and the cost of land and construction costs

Key findings

• There is a need for a range of housing options throughout the Municipality but the Regional Centre has the greatest number and proportion of households facing affordability challenges.

• There is a need for a sufficient supply of rental and ownership housing options affordable to low and moderate income households (those earning $29,567-$52,266 per year).

Future trends • Shift of residential development to urban areas

• Shift to rental housing

• Lower demand for ownership housing

• Aging population

• Smaller households

• Need for non-market housing will continue and is expected to increase

Next Steps • Inform the Housing & Homelessness Partnership Work Plan • Inform policy and program development of individual Partners • Engage a broader spectrum of stakeholders on housing

issues • CPED request for staff reports on:

– Potential of the community land trust model – Ensure no net loss of affordable housing during

redevelopment – Potential of inclusionary zoning – Quantify the # and types of below market units needed

• Engage on housing affordability during the Centre Plan process

Thank you