More than 250 N.B. public housing units sit empty on average each month, despite wait list

Jessica Wright has spent more than a year and a half on New Brunswick's wait list for affordable housing, hoping to be placed into an accessible unit in Saint John or to receive a supplement to help pay her rent.

The 31-year-old signed up shortly after she had two aneurysms on the right side of her brain, affecting her balance and mobility, among other challenges.

"I went from I would say a somewhat healthy, normal, physical person at 30, to a very disabled person," Wright said.

With no timeline to make it to the top of the list, Wright is left in an apartment that she said doesn't meet her accessibility needs, and costs more than she can afford to pay.

While Wright waits, N.B. Housing has about 250 public housing units on average per month across the province sitting vacant, according to data obtained by CBC News through access to information. 

When Wright heard that number, she said she felt she'd "been punched in the gut."

"I'm not living in safe conditions for my situation, and I'm living out of my means," she said.

"I could be in that situation [in a subsidized apartment]. But because the government's failing, I'm not."

Even though not all the available units would meet the criteria she needs, she feels the province could do a better job matching people in need with empty apartments.

"To me, it just doesn't sound like they are trying."

In June 2022, the province had 227 vacant public housing units, which is about six per cent of its total inventory, updated data from the province shows. That includes 96 units in the Saint John region, where Wright lives.

That same month, there were also 133 vacant units under the rent supplement program, where private landlords receive money to help reduce a tenant's rent down to 30 per cent of their adjusted household income.

The units are sitting empty despite increasing need. The province's wait list for affordable housing grew from about 5,000 households at the end of 2019, up to about 6,000 households last fall.

Now, there are 8,194 households waiting, government figures show.