What's the affordable housing vacancy rate in Nova Scotia? No one knows for sure

As the provincial government continues its efforts to spur more housing development in Nova Scotia, MLAs on a legislative committee heard Wednesday that data on vacancy rates for various segments of housing do not exist.

The current overall vacancy rate for the province is around 2.7 per cent, but the executive director of the Nova Scotia Non-Profit Housing Association said she expects most of that is driven by available stock in the most expensive segments.

Trish McCourt told CBC News following the meeting of the legislature’s public accounts committee that people in her sector believe the vacancy rate is much different for units geared to affordability.

“My guess would be close to zero,” she said, while acknowledging that even her partners struggle to get formal data.

“We know that there are people who used to be able to afford the higher end of the market that have had to take units that are more in the lower end of the market because they can’t afford the higher end.”

The province has embarked on a variety of initiatives to try to get more housing built, including working with municipalities on zoning rules, taking a more direct role in planning for the Halifax Regional Municipality, funding the construction of hundreds of new public housing units and helping non-profits purchase and preserve existing affordable stock or building new stock.

Chris Morrissey, the deputy minister of growth and development, said even without a more detailed breakdown of vacancy rates across the housing spectrum, officials in his department work closely with their partners in municipal government and the non-profit sector to determine what's required.

“We’re getting the information we need,” Morrissey told CBC News.

“How much more data do we need to get in order for us to be concentrated on just too much data?”

Morrissey said the department works with vacancy rate data commonly used across the country. Officials also look at other housing-related metrics such as economic development and cost to ensure they’re making the most effective decisions on housing stock, he said.

The provincial vacancy rate has increased from one per cent in recent years and the deputy said that helps everybody because it means increased supply.

Interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin called on the department to find ways to desegregate data so it has breakdowns of vacancy rates based on regions of the province and housing segment.

McCourt, who said the agencies her association works with generally view affordable as monthly rent that's no more than 30 per cent of total household income, said better data helps when it comes to planning for future projects, “especially if we’re trying to make the case that there’s absolutely the need for those affordable units within any community.”

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