Perth housing proposal sparks interest

Lanark County, struggling to find more badly needed affordable housing, is welcoming a proposal from St James Perth that would lift a barrier to expanding rentals in the town.

The county has a waiting list for affordable housing of 773, of which 362 are in Perth (population 6,000).  There are no plans to build more units in the town this year, and St James’s proposal represents the only affordable housing initiative.  

Emily Hollington, Lanark’s social services manager, said the county reached out to area landlords and came up empty.  A big part of the problem is landlord concern that subsidized tenants will damage property and will be without the means to cover repairs.  At a time when rental rates have escalated there is little incentive for landlords to help. A similar outreach in Ottawa last fall fell far short of its goal of housing a hundred households, in part for the same reason. A campaign led by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness Ottawa to enlist landlords succeeded in housing 30 families. Nine hundred calls were made to landlords.

The St James proposal is very interesting, Hollington said, because it would respond directly to one of the landlords’ main concerns. “Our subsidies always go to the tenants while St. James are looking at how to help the landlord.”

The Perth campaign is spearheaded by St James rector, the Rev Ken Davis, David Kroetsch, chair, and the parish outreach committee.  They aim to adapt from a successful refugee housing program in which the parish played a significant role. Building on that experience,  they are proposing to identify landlords with suitable space or with upgrading potential, sign agreements with them whereby the program would bring the units up to code if necessary, oversee the property during the rental tenure and, critically, guarantee to the landlord that the property would be returned in the same condition in which it was rented. The proposal relies heavily on volunteer time and labour and the success of a fundraising drive.