Today the Honourable Tom Osborne, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, along with the Honourable Lisa Dempster, Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC), announced new programs to make it easier for new home buyers to purchase their first home.
As part of Budget 2018, $1 million has been allocated for a new Home Purchase Program. The program will provide grants of $3,000 to individuals and families to go toward the down payment of newly constructed or existing new homes never sold or occupied that are valued under $400,000 including HST. The 330 grants provided in 2018-19 will be issued to the first home buyers who apply and qualify.
The Home Purchase Program is intended to stimulate the economy and generate employment through new home construction and will begin on April 1, 2018. More details can be found in the backgrounder below.
The former Down Payment Assistance Program delivered by NLHC has been replaced with the First-time Homebuyers Program, placing greater focus on its goal to ensure home ownership is more accessible for first-time homebuyers. The program will be extended to March 31, 2019, with available funding of $1.25 million, and will assist an estimated 100 households to secure home ownership.
This extension will provide program enhancements designed to address the impact of new mortgage rules introduced by the federal government in October 2016. The enhancements include:
NLHC will accept applications for the First-time Homebuyers Program beginning April 1, 2018, and additional program information will be available at www.nlhc.nl.ca/programs/programsFhp.html .
These programs complement commitments outlined in The Way Forward: A Vision for Sustainability and Growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Way Forward guides Provincial Government actions to strengthen the province’s economic foundation and improve outcomes to promote a healthy and prosperous province.
Quotes
“The new Home Purchase Program will help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians achieve their dream of home ownership. Whether it is new families just starting out, a family looking to sell an existing property and move into a new home or retirees looking to downsize, this program will help people build for their futures. This program will also stimulate new home construction, in an industry that provides numerous jobs and countless economic benefits to our province. We remain committed to advancing initiatives that create jobs and strengthen our economy.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Finance
“The First-time Homebuyers Program helps to bridge the affordability gap that can prevent moderate-income households from moving out of the rental market and into homeownership. Assisting these households with the minimum down payment on a home removes a primary barrier to home ownership for this income range.”
Honourable Lisa Dempster
Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
“These new programs represent a significant investment in the lives of many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and are one part of the key role that Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation plays in helping people along the housing continuum.”
Glenn Goss
Executive Director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
– 30 –
Learn More
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation – www.nlhc.nl.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL , @FIN_GovNL and @CSSD_GovNL
Media contacts
Chrysta Collins
Finance
709-729-4839, 730-1568
chrystacollins@gov.nl.ca
Jenny Bowring
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
709-724-3055
jmbowring@nlhc.nl.ca
BACKGROUNDER
Details on home buyers programs
As part of Budget 2018, the Provincial Government announced the new Home Purchase Program and enhancements to the newly renamed First-time Homebuyers Program to assist individuals and families become homeowners.
Home Purchase Program
First-time Homebuyers Program
A key dedication ceremony was held today at St. John’s City Hall to celebrate Habitat for Humanity homes for two families.
The Honourable Lisa Dempster, Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation and Nick Whalen, Member of Parliament – St. John’s East, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), made the announcement today.
The Governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada contributed $85,000, through the 2014-2019 Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) agreement, towards the newly built McNeil Street single family three-bedroom home. A new family has also moved into a recently renovated four-bedroom Habitat home on Charter Avenue. Both families have been living in their new homes since December 2017.
The Government of Canada recently unveiled its National Housing Strategy – a 10-year, $40 billion plan that will create 100,000 new housing units and lift 530,000 families out of housing need.
Quotes
“Today, we are happy to celebrate with these two families who are now proud home owners. By continuing to work collaboratively with our partners, we can help ensure more families have access to safe and affordable housing throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Honourable Lisa Dempster
Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
“There is a great deal of work and cooperation that takes place during Habitat for Humanity builds, such as this one. Our government is proud to be partner. The investments in these new homes will make a real difference in the lives of two families, a place they can proudly call their own.”
Nick Whalen
Member of Parliament – St. John’s East
“Providing a ‘hand up’ one house, one family at a time – that is what we are all about here at Habitat for Humanity. Our partner families have worked hard to achieve their dream of home ownership and we are grateful to our community sponsors, staff and volunteers who make their dream a reality.”
Sandra Whiffen
Executive Director, Habitat for Humanity Newfoundland and Labrador
“Habitat has allowed us to have a home for my daughter to grow up in and call her own. I truly can’t put into words what it means to us.”
The Bloodworth Family
“Having a Habitat home for us means no more moving, planting our roots and finally getting to call our house a home. I can now look at my home and say; ‘this is what I’ve been working so hard for!’ It’s not just a home, it’s a life lesson for my kids that show if you work hard, you can do anything!”
The Bragg Family
– 30 –
Learn More
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation – www.nlhc.nl.ca
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation – cmhc.ca
Habitat for Humanity – www.habitat.ca/
National Housing Strategy – www.placetocallhome.ca/
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL , @CSSD_GovNL and @nlhousing
Media contacts
Jenny Bowring
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
709-724-3055
jmbowring@nlhc.nl.ca
Krista Dalton
Children, Seniors and Social Development
709-729-3768, 685-6492
kristadalton@gov.nl.ca
Émilie Gauduchon
Office of Minister Duclos
819-654-5546
Emilie.Gauduchon@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
Natalie Chavarie
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
902-426-4262
nchavari@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Today, the Honourable Lisa Dempster, Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC), announced $740,000 in funding for The Gathering Place and End Homelessness St. John’s as part of NLHC review initiatives. This funding, provided through the NLHC, will assist the two non-profit organizations to prevent and end homelessness, foster long-term housing stability and provide on-site and outreach support services.
The Gathering Place will receive $500,000 to support an enhanced service model that looks at health and wellness, personal well-being, ability enhancement and sustainability which is supported through the work of over 760 volunteers. This is in addition to in-kind supports The Gathering Place receives from Eastern Health and the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.
An investment of $240,000 is also being provided to End Homelessness St. John’s. The funding will assist in expanding the delivery of rent assistance for clients with complex service needs. It will also advance work in key areas of coordinated access and triage for persons experiencing, or at risk of homelessness and help improve data collection and information sharing on the homeless population.
This funding supports the Provincial Government’s commitment in The Way Forward to partner with the community sector to improve service delivery by implementing collaborative and client-focused interventions to improve support to individuals with complex service needs. Today’s announcement is one of a number of initiatives identified in the review to improve both the efficiency and services of NLHC’s programs. Further initiatives are highlighted in the backgrounder below.
The NLHC is continuing to develop a new and comprehensive provincial housing and homelessness plan. All provinces and territories are currently working with the Federal Government to confirm funding allocations and define how the National Housing Strategy, released in November 2017, will support provincial priorities for housing while contributing to shared national housing outcomes.
Quotes
“Safe, stable and affordable housing is fundamental to the social and economic well-being of individuals, families and our communities. We recognize the tremendous benefit of having strong and dedicated community-based organizations throughout the province. We also look forward to working with them and the Federal Government as we move forward in the development of our provincial housing and homelessness plan.”
Honourable Lisa Dempster
Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
“The Gathering Place is a street level community centre dedicated to providing health, social and supportive living needs to over 2,000 marginalized people in St. John’s and surrounding areas. This funding will help us continue providing these critical supports and services to those who struggle daily with mental health issues, addictions, poverty and homelessness. Our facility is largely resourced through the caring contribution of over 760 volunteers along with the dedication of 10 full-time staff members.”
Sister Elizabeth Davis
Co-Chair, The Gathering Place
“We welcome funding from Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation to help us assist people who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. We are also delighted to receive funds to coordinate our community’s homeless-serving system and improve access to housing and community services.”
Shawn Skinner
Chair, End Homelessness St. John’s
– 30 –
Learn More
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation – www.nlhc.nl.ca
The Gathering Place – kindnesswanted.ca
End Homelessness St. John’s – www.nlhhn.org/ehsj-a.htm
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL and @CSSD_GovNL
Media contacts
Jenny Bowring
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
709-724-3055
jmbowring@nlhc.nl.ca
Krista Dalton
Children, Seniors and Social Development
709-729-3768, 685-6492
kristadalton@gov.nl.ca
Joanne Thompson
The Gathering Place
709-727-7712
joannethompson@gatheringstjohns.ca
Bruce Pearce
End Homelessness St. John’s
709-689-9615
bpearce@nl.rogers.com
BACKGROUNDER
Highlights of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Review Initiatives
Increase the supply of affordable housing
Government will invest $6 million to create additional affordable housing units in partnership with the private and non-profit sector, to benefit as many low income households as possible. An invitation for proposals was issued through NLHC on January 20, 2018. This will bring the total of new affordable units created through the Federal/Provincial Investment in Affordable Housing Agreement spanning 2003-2019 to close to 1,700.
Improve the Rent Supplement Program
In fiscal year 2018-19, government will provide additional funding under the Federal/Provincial Social Infrastructure Fund Agreement towards this program to increase the number of rent supplement units.
Government will introduce a portable rent supplement pilot program. Currently rent supplements are attached to a unit, not the individual client and are not portable in nature. Government recognizes that portable rent supplements support Housing First principles and a client’s right to self-determination. The program will select up to 100 clients over a two-year period to evaluate portability. The pilot group will comprise 50 existing clients who have requested a rental transfer and 50 from the waitlist as budget and vacancies allow.
Unlike tenants of NLHC’s public rental units, rent supplement clients in the private market are required to pay a security deposit to the landlord. For some low income households, this required security deposit can be a barrier to being housed. Government will work in partnership with landlords of its rent supplement program to eliminate this barrier. In cases where the security deposit is a housing barrier, landlords will collect the security deposit from the tenant over a period of six months, with flexibility for extenuating circumstances. NLHC will provide a guarantee to the landlords until the security deposit is collected.
Enhance and extend the Downpayment Assistance Program
To provide continued support to new homebuyers, government will extend and enhance its pilot Downpayment Assistance Program for an additional year. The extension will provide program adjustments to address the impact of new mortgage rules introduced by the Federal Government in October 2016 and the results of the two-year pilot. Program enhancements include increasing the average household income maximum from $65,000 to $75,000, allowing a guarantor for mortgage financing, and requiring applicants to have conditional pre-approval for a mortgage from a financial institution.
Improve support to community centres
Community centres contribute substantially to the quality of life in the social housing neighbourhoods they serve. To improve support to these centres, NLHC will fund two social worker positions to work directly in the five community centres in the St. John’s area. These positions will provide proactive interventions to youth and families to help improve academic performance and increase engagement in education by youth and parents. Such positive interventions can also promote healthy lifestyles and capacity in the community to connect with community resources to address mental health and addictions and other social issues. An evaluation of the results will be reviewed during 2018-19, including consideration of how this model, if successful, can be adapted to the remaining community centres.
Transform programs using Housing First
A Housing First approach recognizes that permanent housing, combined with individualized flexible supports, without preconditions of wellness or sobriety, is essential to promote housing stability for individuals with multiple and complex needs. Implementing a Housing First approach for programs and a provincial response to homelessness that incorporates Housing First principles will improve housing stability and client outcomes, reduce the amount of time that clients spend interacting with various systems and reduce demand for costly emergency response services.
To further align more immediate opportunities within government for improved collaboration and coordination for emergency shelter and housing for the homeless, effective June 1, 2018, NLHC will assume accountability for coordination of access to emergency shelters and accommodations from the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour and accountability and support of transition housing from the Regional Health Authorities.
Establish an eviction prevention framework
Evictions and multiple re-housing are common challenges in Housing programs and result in costs to the tenant, landlord and the public. NLHC will move forward to develop a comprehensive eviction prevention framework to improve housing stability. An eviction prevention framework can assist individuals to remain housed. Components of such a framework include, for example, identification of at-risk individuals, developing indicators that trigger early interventions, identifying key points of intervention in the eviction process, developing partnerships with landlords and community services providers, and educating tenants on their role and responsibilities for a successful tenancy.
Improve stability of funding for housing support workers
Under the Supportive Living Program, Government provides funding to various community agencies to employ nine housing support worker positions in rural parts of the province – Carbonear, Burin, Clarenville, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook, Stephenville, Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Labrador West. These housing support workers work directly with individuals who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness to find stable and affordable homes. Currently, these community agencies are required to reapply for funding for housing support workers on an annual basis. Government will provide stable funding for Housing Support Workers through a two year commitment of funding for 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Optimize the use of NLHC public rental housing
NLHC has a rental portfolio of 5,599 units that vary in size and bedroom count. The housing stock, which consists of mostly larger units, continues to pose a challenge in accommodating today’s applicants who require primarily one or two bedroom units. This represents the shifting demographic over the years from larger to smaller families, an aging demographic as well as an increased percentage of single individuals comprising clients receiving income support.
To assess opportunities to improve the overall utilization of stock to meet current and future housing needs, NLHC will look at current use of and demand for housing units, changing demographics, and regional needs. During 2017-18, NLHC will complete a comprehensive assessment of options for improved utilization of the NLHC housing portfolio to inform development of the Provincial Housing and Homelessness Plan. This will include assessing, for example, opportunities to utilize federal funding on reconfiguring existing units where it is effective to do so, increasing the number of accessible units, exploring the feasibility of further piloting shared accommodations, and exploring partnership opportunities with community organizations for use of some of NLHC units for housing and other social uses.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC), today announced a new and more efficient management structure for the organization.
The new structure will see the elimination of 14 of the 76 management positions at NLHC (an 18 per cent reduction), resulting in $1.4 million in annual savings. Options to streamline the organization were very carefully considered with client service and effective management being the primary focus. There will be no impacts to front line services.
Quotes
“In The Way Forward, government committed to renewing government operations and having a more efficient public sector is one of the policy actions to support that vision. It is important to note that the positions being eliminated are management, not front-line or client contact personnel, which means there will be no negative impact on clients.”
Honourable Lisa Dempster
Minister Responsible for Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
“Today’s corporate restructuring is one more indication of government’s commitment to enhance efficiencies without impacting effectiveness. The Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation’s renewed structure enables us to reduce annual operating costs while continuing to deliver our programs and services to the people of the province who need our help the most.”
Glenn Goss, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (Interim)
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
– 30 –
Learn more
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation – www.nlhc.nl.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @GovNL, @CSSD_GovNL and @nlhousing
Media contact
Krista Dalton
Children, Seniors and Social Development
709-729-3768, 685-6492
kristadalton@gov.nl.ca
Jenny Bowring
Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation
709-709-724-3055
jmbowring@nlhc.nl.ca