It’s getting harder for some non-profits to fight the housing crisis.
Habitat for Humanity’s goal is to create affordable housing, but building costs have doubled, according to Donna Williamson, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia.
She says it’s making it harder to raise enough money.
“As a not-for-profit, we used to be able to build a three-bedroom home for $160,000,” she said.
Williamson spoke at the national conference hosted in Halifax this week.
Habitat for Humanity builds homes for families in need, offering mortgages below the typical market price.
Williamson said she wants her colleagues from across the country to see how great Nova Scotia is, but she also wants them to see the struggles the province faces. The rate of population growth in Halifax is one of the highest in the country.
But she also says they’re having some major success, like with their Habitat for Humanity Restore, which offers new and used building materials and furniture. There is so much demand they plan to pen a second store in New Glasgow on August 1st.
She hopes the teams from across Canada will find solutions to their biggest hurdles, which include finding land for homes, getting build permits, and the rising cost of the build itself.
Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore spoke at the opening of the conference, reiterating his goals as mayor to improve the housing stock in the city.
He says it’s the city’s job to speed up regulatory roadblocks.
“That includes land approvals. That includes building inspections. It includes development permits. Those are all the things that are squarely within our mandate. It includes opening up a lower cost land for new development. It means making sure that our urban service boundary is being stretched and relocated when it needs to be to allow for more residential growth,” said Fillmore.
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