{"id":111761,"date":"2022-08-18T17:35:52","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T21:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=111761"},"modified":"2022-08-19T10:44:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T14:44:05","slug":"how-much-is-your-rent-new-project-aiming-to-grow-capacity-for-non-profit-housing-wants-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/how-much-is-your-rent-new-project-aiming-to-grow-capacity-for-non-profit-housing-wants-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"How much is your rent? New project aiming to grow capacity for non-profit housing wants to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a dearth of information when it comes to housing\u2014especially rental housing\u2014in areas of New Brunswick outside of the three big cities. But Peter Corbyn is hoping to change that, and he\u2019s looking for help from Sackville renters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Corbyn is a consultant working for the New Brunswick Non Profit Housing Association <\/a>on a housing asset data map. He\u2019s gathering information on housing costs, vacancies, suppliers, and basically anything that can help support further development of desperately needed affordable housing options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to come close to doubling our number of housing starts in the province relative to the 1990s,\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cAnd we\u2019re facing a number of challenges to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corbyn cites changing demographics leading to a reduction of skilled tradespeople in smaller communities, the rise in prices of construction and real estate, the pandemic in general, and the influx of new people moving to the province. Corbyn\u2019s project will attempt to gather information to help smaller communities get in a better position for developing and financing affordable housing.<\/p>\n

One component of Corbyn\u2019s research is the gathering of accurate rental market data, especially for communities with populations under 10,000, for whom data is not currently published. \u201cThe average or median market rental rate in any given community in rural New Brunswick, whether it\u2019s Charlotte County, Kent County, even Sackville, the peninsula, Carleton County\u2026 The rental rates are assumed to be the same for all of those regions,\u201d says Corbyn, \u201cwhich as we all know is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corbyn recently partnered with the Town of Sackville to launch a Sackville-focussed survey of the rental market<\/a>. Links to the online survey are published on the town\u2019s website and social media, and also right here<\/a>. The survey is focused on anyone renting in the area, and asks what residents pay in rent, and for what type of home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re essentially going to be digging deeper for data in order to better identify what those rental rates are so that we can we can use that information to help finance projects,\u201d says Corbyn.<\/p>\n

Federal funding of non-profit housing dropped off in the 1990s. Just before it did, two Sackville-based groups sprouted up to fill needs: Marshwinds Coop was formed with its 20-unit complex off Main Street, and the Sackville and Area Housing Association was formed with four refurbished units in two buildings, all subsidized through NB Housing.<\/p>\n

Corbyn says that there are now federal funds available for housing projects, but not all areas of the country are accessing that funding equally. \u201cOne of the challenges we face here in Atlantic Canada, for example, is that we\u2019re only accessing about a third per capita what Ontario is [accessing],\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cWe really need to grow the capacity of not-for-profit and co-op housing in the province. This project will help give them a good starting point to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The housing asset data map will include other components designed to inspire and support growth in non-profit housing throughout the province. Corbyn says his team will be putting together local directories of organizations, including \u201cwho are the local plumbers, general contractors, electricians?\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea is to build a community of people and organizations that may not have connected before, but could collaborate locally. \u201cSo that they can share and meet specifically in the context of housing,\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cSo that we can share best methods and ideas around the province so that perhaps an organization in Sackville can learn about something someone\u2019s doing Edmundston.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corbyn says the data map will also include an inventory of properties in various communities that might be candidates for not for profit development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s Sackville, or Salisbury, or St. Stephen or St. Andrews, we can identify quickly what particular properties could be used,\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cThey could either be existing sites that are privately held or crown property, or even buildings or properties that can be renovated or rejuvenated, like old motels, hotels, hospitals, schools, churches, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given that Sackville has two non-profit housing groups: Marshwinds Housing Coop and Sackville and Area Housing, CHMA asked Corbyn where he saw the most potential, with new groups forming, or with existing groups expanding?<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, it doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cI would say both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corbyn says that over time, there could be advantages to groups consolidating, because some overhead costs, like financial audits, remain relatively consistent whether groups are managing four units or 40 units.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a need for fresh blood in some of the longstanding organizations. \u201cMany of these projects and organizations have not added inventory in the last 25 to 35 years,\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cA lot of them are in sort of caretaker mode. A lot of the board of directors are quite frankly retired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do need new, young leaders in the province to address affordable and not-for-profit and co-op housing, and we\u2019re seeing some of those individuals and organizations emerge in the province,\u201d says Corbyn. \u201cWe do see, long term, a) the need for consolidation, and b) the need for new organizations as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corbyn expects the housing asset data map to start reporting initial findings in mid-September.<\/p>\n

If you are a renter, you can contribute to the research underway for the housing asset data map in a survey offered in partnership with the town of Sackville. Get to the survey at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Listen to the CHMA story below:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a dearth of information when it comes to housing\u2014especially rental housing\u2014in areas of New Brunswick outside of the three big cities. But Peter Corbyn is hoping to change that, and he\u2019s looking for help from Sackville renters. Corbyn is a consultant working for the New Brunswick Non Profit Housing Association on a housing asset…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":111763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[217,57],"tags":[571,17875,17876,3619],"radio":[227],"origine":[274,275,277],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111761"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111761"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111862,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111761\/revisions\/111862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111761"},{"taxonomy":"radio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/radio?post=111761"},{"taxonomy":"origine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/origine?post=111761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}