Amid rental housing crunch in St. John's, nearly one in five city units sits empty
As a shortage of affordable rental housing grips the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, an anti-homelessness group is calling on the City of St. John's to fill its vacant public units.
Doug Pawson, executive director of End Homelessness St. John's, says the 80 units sitting empty as of Tuesday -- 51 of which need repairs before they can be rented -- could have a big impact in the city of about 212,000 people.
"Fifty units of public housing that are not available could make a significant reduction in chronic homelessness in our community," he said. "That would help alleviate a big burden, especially as we're welcoming refugees from Ukraine and an influx of students, while folks are getting squeezed out of the rental market and having to find other options."
The City of St. John's operates 424 units aimed at low-income individuals and families. City officials said last week that 48 units have been awaiting repair -- or "not rent-ready" -- for at least six months. Thirty-eight of those have needed work for over a year.
As of April 29, there were 199 people on the city's waiting list for housing, according to information obtained through an access request. Over 80 per cent on the list are waiting for "rent-geared-to-income" housing, wherein residents pay 25 per cent of their income for rent, with heat included.
The numbers show 72 people are on the list for a one-bedroom "rent-geared-to-income" place, and the rest are hoping for larger homes with two, three or four bedrooms.
But two-thirds of the city's housing falls under a typically more expensive category, known as "low end of the market" units. Only 37 people were on the wait-list for those units.
St. John's Coun. Ophelia Ravencroft said in a recent interview it would take a council vote to designate the more expensive units as rent-geared-to-income units to accommodate the higher demand. She said there may be appetite within council to have that discussion.
"We obviously want the units that we have to be as responsive to community needs as a possible," she said.
As for the high vacancy rate, Ravencroft said staffing issues beyond the city's control -- many related to the COVID-19 pandemic -- have caused a backlog, and the city is working hard to get through it.
By comparison, the provincial government housing corporation operates 3,192 units in the St. John's area, and it had a vacancy rate of about six per cent as of April 29.
Pawson said community groups like his can help the city get tenants into its homes faster. "We need to know what their plan is to get (the units) ready," he said. "And if they're not going to get them ready, what's the plan for the use of the land? And would they be willing to divest those assets to the community to be developed for housing?"
Meanwhile, finding an affordable rental home outside of public housing in St. John's is increasingly difficult, Sherwin Flight said in a recent interview. Flight, who is based in St. John's, has run a series of Facebook groups for tenants and landlords in the province for about a decade. He said in an interview Tuesday that he's never seen so many posts go unanswered from people looking for a place to live.
"We see posts from people that are very desperate," Flight said. "In some cases, several thousand people have viewed those posts, and there's not one comment from anyone with anything to offer."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.