Out-of-rental market family on NS south coast forced into tents – Halifax | Globalnews.ca

A camp in Lunenburg, NS, is the only makeshift home Jessica Smith and her family were able to find after months of searching.

“We had a short term rental from October to June 1st. So from October 2021 to now, we have been looking for a rental,” Smith said.

Smith is a lifelong South Shore resident and says that even with a full-time job as a continuing care assistant, she is priceless in the rental market.

“The rent has gone up drastically. If anything is available, it’s short-term or there’s a lot of Airbnb right now, or there just aren’t places big enough, suitable for a large family,” he said.

Smith decided to publicly share the struggle her family is facing because she knows there are many others in similar positions.

“The government and everyone must be aware of what is really happening. They need to try to implement something for families who are homeless and don’t qualify to buy a home. They need to listen to us,” she said.

the community is rallying behind the family with widespread support and efforts to find them suitable housing.

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“A stranger…came up to me and brought together a lot of people who are donating Airbnbs, they’re also promoting small businesses. So every day she’s trying to get a small business to donate something, and then they’re going to auction it off,” she said.

Smith says the kindness of strangers coupled with the strong bond their family shares are getting them through this difficult time.

The mayor of the city of Lunenburg, Matt Risser, says that the housing crisis is a widespread problem that affects municipalities throughout the province.

“I would say the need is acute. I would say that there is much more demand than we have supply, at the moment. I think the province is doing housing needs assessments for all the municipalities this year, and I think ours will reflect the demand here,” Risser said.

He describes the need for housing as “demonstrable” and says Lunenburg city council has implemented charter and land-use changes to try to encourage more stock to be built.

“We have allowed for higher density in terms of where people can build. We have allowed more full-fledged development, which means people just need a permit so they don’t get stuck in public hearings,” she said.

Risser says that while he agrees that short-term rentals have put pressure on existing housing, he is cautious about blaming any single factor.

“We have to be careful not to blame any particular factor. The most important aspect is that demand exceeds supply,” he said.