“We had a tremendous response,” enthused Mark King, the Board Chair of the District of Nipissing Social Services Administration (DNSSAB), speaking of the reaction to a recent homeowner’s loan offered by the administration.
King mentioned the program was a success, with “some 63 applications” for the loan crossing the desk. Of those, nine were given out, “one approval per region,” King noted, adding he will ask the board to expand the program for next year.
Earlier this spring, DNSSAB announced a program that would offer forgivable loans to homeowners who build a rental unit on their property. It could be an addition to the home, of a freestanding dwelling. DNSSAB would provide up to 75 per cent of the associated costs, to a maximum of $50,000 through a forgivable loan.
See: Up to $50K from DNSSAB for homeowners to create additional unit
The eligible homeowner would then be obliged to rent the space at an affordable rate to a tenant of their choosing. DNSSAB staff explained that “affordable rent for this program is considered at or less than Average Market Rent for the district, as calculated by CMCH,” the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The CMCH put the average rent for a bachelor apartment in the Nipissing district at $674. Those homeowners who received a loan from DNSSAB must provide affordable rent for 15 years. DNSSAB staff will keep tabs to ensure the conditions of the loan are being followed.
“It’s a really good program,” King added, and he would like to see it continue on a larger scale. “When I first saw it at the board level, I knew that it would be successful,” he said. “Our staff are really good; they’re constantly looking for avenues to really improve the housing situation,” in the region.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
