Home-sharing platform funded by N.S. government results in just 23 leases in a year

HALIFAX — In the year since Nova Scotia invested in an online platform aimed at helping renters find affordable housing, a total of 23 leases have been signed, a result opposition parties say is a failure.

On Aug. 4, 2023, the province said it would give $1.3 million over two years to Happipad — a Canadian non-profit home-sharing application that matches homeowners who have empty rooms with renters who need housing. As of July 31, the Housing Department says a total of 60 rooms were listed and 23 leases signed.

Minister of Housing John Lohr was not made available for an interview Thursday; instead, Advanced Education Minister Brian Wong spoke about the program on behalf of the government.

“I am pleased with the whole concept of Happipad and its potential,” Wong said in an interview, declining to say if he is satisfied that the $1.3-million program has so far resulted in less than 25 signed leases.

“We probably would have hoped that we would have more, but that is in the making right now.”

There has been a recent uptake in the program, Wong said, with seven leases signed in July — the most in any month since the province’s funding announcement last year. The platform currently has 589 people registered as hosts.

He said the home-sharing model is a good one, and the Happipad platform could be an ideal fit for university and college students in Nova Scotia, particularly those from outside of Canada.

“Imagine an international student coming to Nova Scotia that really doesn’t know how Nova Scotia works or how our Canadian culture is, then you’re living with somebody that can help you navigate our communities, maybe help international students, for example, fall in love with Nova Scotia and want to stay here,” Wong said.

The provincial funding allows for fees to be waived for users of the platform; it also pays for the administrative costs of setting up the website in Nova Scotia, and for marketing.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender called the project a “failure” and a poor use of money.

“We need exponential growth in new housing, and we need to focus on housing that’s affordable. This does neither of those things,” she said in an interview Thursday.

Happipad may be “a short-term (housing) solution for a handful of people, but that’s not what we’ve been promised and that’s not what we’re looking for. So I think it’s very disappointing,” Chender said.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill echoed Chender’s disappointment.

“The fact that only 23 leases have been signed through an app that the Houston government sunk $1.3 million into is simply unacceptable — that’s $56,000 per lease,” he said Thursday.

“This is just further proof that (Premier) Tim Houston’s plan to address the housing crisis is nothing more than smoke and mirrors and does nothing to help Nova Scotians find housing they can afford.”

A Housing Department spokesperson said the need for housing is urgent and the province is “laser focused” on solutions, adding that the government has developed a $1.7-billion housing plan that “will create the conditions” for 41,000 new homes in Nova Scotia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 22, 2024.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press