NSNDP

February 19th, 2020

Lack of affordable housing in Truro making life more difficult for people

TRURO - The growing housing crisis is impacting all parts of Nova Scotia, not just Halifax. In Truro, rapidly rising rental costs and the growth of short-term rentals like Airbnb are putting a squeeze on people who rent.

“Too many people in our community are spending too much money on housing, whether you rent or own your home,” said Kathleen Kevany, NDP candidate in Truro-Bible Hill-Milbrook-Salmon River. “We need to make sure people can afford to live in our community, and progressive ideas like rent control and regulating short-term rentals like Airbnb are a good start.”

Joan Kellar is the Chairperson of the Truro Homelessness Outreach Society. She volunteers helping people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

“The lack of affordable housing in Truro is a major crisis here for people. We have people who can't move out of the shelter because there is nowhere for them to go that they can afford, and we have people sleeping on the streets because we have no more room in the shelter,” said Kellar. “We need government funding desperately here to provide the basic human right of shelter to everyone. No one should be sleeping outside, especially in this weather.”

The NDP is focused on solutions for making housing more affordable, including rent controls, regulating short-term rentals, and building more housing units.

“Across the province we’re seeing rapid increases in rental costs for housing. People are reporting $100, $200 or even $300 a month increases,” said NDP Leader Gary Burrill. “We need to make housing more affordable and more available, whether you rent or want to buy. A good starting point would be to bring in rent control to limit the amount of rent increases.”