Mr. Speaker, I rise today to provide an update on the implementation of the new public housing rent scale. Implementation of the new rent scale started on July 1, 2012, and to date, response has been very positive.

You will recall that the changes to the public housing rent scale was part of the 17th Legislative

Assembly’s strategic priorities and is a central piece of Building for the Future, the NWT Housing Corporation’s strategic plan.

The new rent scale was designed to be simple, predictable and fair. The disincentive to work that was often identified as a problem with the old rent scale was also addressed.

Mr. Speaker, while it is too early for definitive results on the impact of the new rent scale, early indications have been positive. The following are a few observations:

• We have reduced the number of different rents

we charge to only 22 in July, down from the 401 different rents we were using in June the last month of the old rent scale. This reflects the simpler and more predictable rent in the new system.

• We are eliminating the wide variations in rent

charged to households with similar income in order to make the rents fairer. In June we charged anywhere from zero to $964 for households earning between $3,000 and $3,500 a month. In July, about 70 percent of these households were paying between $325 and

$365 in rent, as there were still seniors paying zero.

• We have made rent more predictable and

addressed the disincentive to work. There were 361 public housing tenants that paid rent in July that had income increase in August but didn’t have their rent increase. In the old system, increases in income would have resulted in increased rent.

• We have heard reports from communities where

they have had trouble in the past finding casual employees because of the disincentive to work caused by our rent scale. We are now seeing large numbers of people applying for casual positions.

• In reporting these overall impacts, we can’t lose

sight of the positive impact on families. For example, a tenant from Behchoko earning $51,000 a year and supporting a family of six had their rent decline from $1,126 in June to $580 in July.

Mr. Speaker, the change in the public housing rent scale was a major change in approach. While we have seen positive results, we also recognize that some people saw their rent increase. Most of the increases in rent were fairly modest, and while nobody likes having their rent increased, it is my sense that our tenants have responded positively to the changes.

Mr. Speaker, on September 1, 2012, the next step in implementing the new rent scale was started. Seniors that live without younger adults started paying rent. As Members are aware, the NWT Housing Corporation is phasing in rent for these seniors. We are charging 50 percent of the new rent for seniors that don’t live with younger adults until July 2013, when full implementation will take place.

In September, seniors living in 448 units without any younger adults started paying rent. The NWT Housing Corporation and the local housing organizations worked closely with these seniors to explain the new approach. While these are preliminary estimates, I am pleased to report that the collection rate for these households was 114 percent for September. This reflects the fact that some seniors paid rent ahead for future months and

that some seniors were paying for previously accumulated arrears.

It is certainly no surprise to me that seniors have stepped up and have accepted the new responsibility. Many seniors over the years have indicated to me that they don’t mind paying modest rent and this early result supports that. For September, rent was 3.1 percent of the total income for these seniors and 91 percent of these households paid less than $100 in rent.

Mr. Speaker, these are early overall results of the new public housing rent scale. We will need to continue to work with our tenants and pay particular attention to implementation of the new rent scale and to ensure we are doing our part to address past arrears and work with tenants to make sure they remain in good standing.

We will continue to provide updates on this initiative and I look forward to working with all Members as we advance the priorities of the 17th Legislative

Assembly. Thank you Mr. Speaker.