North Central non-profit housing trust proposal to be heard by housing commission
A Regina citizen is proposing a housing trust in the North Central neighbourhood to help with low-quality and deteriorating housing there.
Jeremy Parnes worked as a consultant on a 2002 project which established an "action plan" for what North Central might look like in 2020. He said there are still a lot of the same problems, despite work being done.
"Low-income housing is important to me because it is germane [to the neighbourhood]," he said.
"It is the centre of the community. If you just look at it as the house or housing, then of course it misses the point. It's the home — it's where the next generation is influenced the most and grows up."
Parnes has been in contact with city administration since early this year about a housing trust. The report on that is set to be filed Tuesday at the Mayor's Housing Commission.
He also worked at a housing trust in London years ago and said he's seen the results and it works.
The trust is similar to systems used frequently in the United States and the United Kingdom. There aren't many housing trusts in Canada, according to the report.
It would work by acquiring properties from owners who are in debt or in danger of foreclosing. The savings from the mortgage relief plus rental income is invested back into repairs of the homes owned by the trust.
Parnes' proposal says "this model is designed to focus on building families, neighbourhoods and communities by renewing the housing stock, addressing the strengths of families and building community engagement," unlike private management.
"We're not there just to simply manage or maintain property," said Parnes.
"We're there to work with the tenants in terms of approaching the positive aspects of what they bring to their community."
City administration reviewed the proposal and agreed it could help "long standing housing issues" in North Central, including:
Poor housing quality: The 2016 census indicated that North Central had the most homes of any neighbourhood in Regina in need of major repair.
Vacant lots: It also has the highest number of vacant lots in the city at 154, according to the Underutilized Land Study.
Population loss: The report indicated that population in North Central fell 5.4% between 2011 and 2016. I It states prolonged population loss can lead to loss of services like schools and grocery stores.
Falling home prices: The average sale price for a home in North Central decreased 39 per cent from 2014 to 2018.
