Close to 30 buildings have been torn down in Moncton and fire inspectors say many more have been put under the microscope by a task force on rooming houses.
The task force was assembled in 2013 to combat dilapidated buildings in the city’s downtown after a squatter was killed in a rooming-house fire.
Since then, 28 buildings have been demolished and thousands more have been inspected and brought up to acceptable standards.
“Most of these buildings will never meet today’s codes, we get that,” says Moncton Division Fire Chief Charles LeBlanc. “But it’s up to us and an inspector to determine where to draw the line, what’s acceptable to be able to move on and have people remain in those properties.”
LeBlanc says a slew of shutdowns in April prompted building owners in the area to fix up their properties to avoid demolition.
“Out of every building that comes down, there’s easily 100, if not 200, buildings we’ve been in that have been brought up to code,” says LeBlanc. “It could be something as simple as a smoke detector to several tens of thousands of dollars spent.”
While the task force hits the streets, the city’s social inclusion officers and provincial government are looking at new options for low-income housing.
A housing supply-and-needs assessment report will bring forth new options this October – a step taken by centres in Nova Scotia and in Fredericton.
“Not only for shelters and rooming houses, but the entire spectrum of affordable housing, from transitional to affordable housing to home ownership,” says Kayla Breelove-Carter, the manager of social inclusion for the City of Moncton.
Carter says most of the people who were displaced by the April shutdowns have found alternative housing through rooming houses, shelters or New Brunswick Housing.
Meanwhile, the task force says closures and demolitions are only a last resort.
“I’ve sat in my truck before we start the process of evicting people and you’re just about crying, because I know I’m basically putting people out of their home,” says LeBlanc.
While the demolitions have changed the look of some Moncton streets, the city and task force say they are moving full speed ahead into a housing revamp.
Once the supply-and-needs assessment is completed in October, the city says it will work to establish a housing corporation and develop flexible zoning standards and land grants to increase the supply of affordable housing in the city.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Cami Kepke
