Nova Scotia’s auditor general has produced a scathing critique of the governance and administration of the provincial public housing portfolio. Her recently delivered report to the Nova Scotia legislative assembly chronicles: lax ministerial oversight; the absence of standard managerial and customer service protocols within the province’s five regional housing authorities; a flawed application process; and inadequate monitoring that has resulted in a mismatch of unit size to tenants’ needs.
“Both internal documents and multiple independent reports indicate a new governance model is necessary for public housing, and this is further supported by the weaknesses identified throughout this report,” Auditor General Kim Adair observes. “Ultimate responsibility for public housing rests with the Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing, and the Department needs to take action to improve governance and create a culture of accountability for public housing.”
As of December 2021, 5,950 applicants were waiting for accommodation in a portfolio consisting of about 11,200 units. Still, it’s often taking upwards of 120 days to place new tenants in vacated units — a period that’s more than double the target that housing administrators have set for themselves.
The report contains 20 recommendations categorized into three action areas to: find efficiencies and instill more professional rigour in the delivery of housing services; overhaul the application process; and improve management practices and landlord-tenant communications in public housing buildings.
Among the findings, the auditor general noted: common approval of incomplete applications; inconsistencies in assigning priority access; inadequate records of the decision-making process in allocating units; and administrative sloppiness that compromises the accuracy of the waiting list. She also highlighted: outdated management agreements — dating back to the early 2000s — between the Nova Scotia government and regional housing authorities; a paucity of business plans, accountability reporting or performance evaluations; and the failure to take minutes a meetings between Ministerial officials and regional housing authorities.
At the building level, she charted sluggish response to tenants’ complaints and failure to comply with requirements for tenant engagement. The report is particularly critical of a lack of follow-up monitoring once a unit is occupied.
“The regional housing authorities are not following policies to assess continued eligibility for public housing. This has resulted in tenants living in units that exceed their size requirements,” it states. “Management estimates over 1,500 units are underutilized.”
For its part, Nova Scotia’s Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing has agreed with the recommendations and set target dates ranging from 2022-23 to 2025-26 to begin to implement responses.
