Auditor General Denise Hanrahan has delivered a dire assessment of the province’s social housing supply and management of it.
The audit covers the four-year period between April 2021 and June 2025, and legitimizes the raft of constant complaints about housing in the province.
Chief among them is the waitlist for a unit, which has grown by more than 70 per cent, while there was a decline of almost 60 units overall.
That’s despite millions of dollars earmarked for new builds and renos, including construction of more than a hundred new units, only four of which were completed, taking about two years to finish.
Livingstone Street is one area where a number of units were heavily damaged by fire in March of 2025
By the end of June last year, the average wait was more than a year, with some in limbo for over two years. Even those approved have waited for months to move in due to other issues such as lack of maintenance or the wrong fit for the client.
Compounding the problem has been the lack of inspections, monitoring of housing demand and poor or no forecasting of future needs. In some cases units were sold off in places where they were needed most.
Hanrahan noted the same inventory of housing and systemic weaknesses exist today as they did during the last audit 18 years ago, despite assurances they would be addressed.
And while all 14 recommendations have been accepted by the current government, she remains extremely concerned for NLHC’s ability to fulfil its mandate to house the most vulnerable.
