Mr. Speaker, I have a return to written question asked by Mr. Bromley on November 6, 2013, regarding calculating eligibility for public housing rental subsidies.
1. When assessing a client’s rental payment, what
are the main factors (income from various sources, number of children, et cetera) that are considered? In other words, how is the amount of rent determined?
The objective of the Public Housing Program is to provide suitable, adequate and affordable housing to low and modest income residents. The program is based on a rent geared to income approach.
The unit allocation is based on the required size to ensure tenants are suitably accommodated, while rent is assessed on the total monthly income of all residents of the household. All sources of income are included in calculating monthly rent. Seniors who live alone or with other seniors receive a $1,000 monthly income exemption for their rent calculation.
Rent for public housing tenants ranges from approximately 19 percent of income for tenants earning $100,000 or more annually to approximately 4.5 percent of income for tenants earning $20,000 or less annually. The national standard for affordability is shelter costs exceeding 30 percent of income.
2. When assessing a client’s need for public
housing, what is the level of monthly income below which a client is considered in need of subsidized rent for:
a) an 18-year-old living on their own in
Yellowknife?
b) a single parent with three children in
Yellowknife?
c) an unemployed couple with two children in
Yellowknife?
d) a senior living on their own in Yellowknife?
There are a number of factors that are considered in relation to someone applying for the Public Housing Program.
In terms of income eligibility, in Yellowknife it would range from income less than $50,500 total income for a tenant that could be suitably accommodated in a bachelor suite up to $103,000 for a family that would require a four-bedroom unit.
3. Are rent subsidy needs calculated differently in
each NWT community? If so, for the same four examples listed above, what is the level of monthly income below which a client is considered in need of rental subsidies in each NWT community?
These are two quite distinct questions.
As noted, the amount of rent charged each tenant is related to their total income. The new scale classifies communities into three zones that are based on Statistic Canada’s Living Cost Differentials. For example, public housing rents range from $70 per month in a small community such as Paulatuk for a tenant with a low income up to a monthly rent of $1,625 in Inuvik for a tenant with an annual income exceeding $100,000.
The amount of operating subsidy that a household would effectively receive is dependent on the operating cost for that unit and the amount of rent paid by residents of that unit. As such, more information on the family structure and income of the examples you provide would be needed.
The second question relates to the income eligibility for accessing public housing. In the larger market communities (Yellowknife, Hay River, Inuvik) we are able to base that on the size of the unit that is required as there is a large enough base of market rentals to complete that calculation. In smaller communities an average value for the community is used due to lack of private market comparators. This is the rental Core Need Income Threshold (CNIT) used in each community.
4. In the most recent year that has complete data,
how many individuals received a rental subsidy in each NWT community?
As of December 10, 2013, there were 5,835 tenants in public housing across the NWT.
5. For that same period of time, what were the
total value of rental subsidies (compared to what the client would have paid at “market rates”) made in each NWT community?
With approximately 2,400 public housing units across the NWT, approximately $42.5 million is estimated to be provided in net rental subsidies in 2014-15 compared to operating expenditures of just under $48 million. The expected rental revenue assumes a 90 percent collection rate at just over $5.5 million.
Later today I will table an information package that explains how public housing rents are calculated in our three zones, the rental Core Need Income Threshold (CNIT) used in each community, the number of tenants by community and the estimated operating subsidy for public housing by community in the 2014-15 budget.