ACORN’s Statement on the Results of the Affordable Housing Commission
For Immediate Release, May 31st, 2021.
For more details, tenant testimonials, and to speak with ACORN spokespeople contact Nova Scotia organizer Sydnee Blum at halifax@acorncanada.org
(Nova Scotia) While we never had faith in the findings of a commission made up mostly of developers, landlords, and those who have created the housing crisis in the first place – we are still extremely disappointed with most of the commission’s recommendations. This report shows a complete disconnect from the reality that tenants in this province are facing. Rather than provide material protections for tenants or invest in building public housing, the commission has chosen to recommend cutting red tape and giving tax breaks to developers, vague promises to improve public housing, and discontinuing rent control past the state of emergency.
Scrapping the temporary rent cap with no plan to regulate rents after the state of emergency is putting tenants in an even more precarious situation than they were before the temporary measures. We will see a return to $650+/month rent increases and the cost of housing skyrocketing. The report also cites debunked claims about rent control, claiming it disincentivizes development and keeps landlords from doing renovations on their units – we know this isn’t true. In reality, rent control stabilizes rents, prevents economic evictions, and keeps rental units affordable.
The overwhelming majority of Nova Scotians support rent control, and with a Provincial election coming up we intend to make this a ballot box issue. We had opposition to rent control from the last Liberal government and we rallied and fought and forced them to bring in the 2% rent cap, and if Iain Rankin choses to remove rent controls at the end of the state of emergency we intend to do the same.
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“Nova Scotia ACORN is an independent organization of low- and moderate-income people and the largest tenants union in the province, fighting for affordable housing, a living wage, and better communities across Nova Scotia.” Attachments area
