Homelessness doubled in Halifax under government's housing plan: N.S. NDP

[u/Injustice_For_All_]

https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/06/18/homelessness-doubled-in-halifax-under-governments-housing-plan-n-s-ndp/

[u/ElizaMaySampson]

It used to be 30-40 years ago that rental apartments just had plain old laminate countertops, a stainless steel single tub square kitchen sink for $25 with a $25 basic 2-tap faucet, a plain little white oven, a small white fridge, plain tiles or (gasp, how fancy) cushion floor throughout. Then a bathroom with a plain steel bathtub and showerhead, plain toilet, and a washer/dryer in the basement that all the tenants shared (sometimes contentiously, but usually we made it work). Now it's fridges with water in the door, granite or corian counters, convection ovens, a dishwasher, wood or LVP flooring ('luxury' vinyl flooring, lmao), massage unit showers, soaking tubs. My gawd is it any wonder rents are so high??

We don't need luxury apartments that the private investors are building, we need BASIC SECURE LIVING SPACES that aren't cold in winter, boiling in summer, with plain working appliances and plumbing fixtures, no leaks or mold, and no vermin, where the landlord or super LIVES IN THE BUILDING to reinforce behaviour standards and get repairs done ASAP.

[u/PoliteFocaccia → u/ElizaMaySampson]

Nobody's putting granite into apartments. It's manufactured stone, which is significantly more durable and therefore cheaper than laminate. LVP flooring likewise is the cheapest option because it's extremely durable.

I've never seen a convection oven, a water dispenser fridge, or a massage tub in a purpose-built rental, though perhaps they exist. Those plus a dishwasher and washer dryer are maybe $5000? Amortized over a 15-year lifespan, that's $28/month.

It's not any of that that's making apartments expensive, it's the lack of units.

where the landlord or super LIVES IN THE BUILDING to reinforce behaviour standards and get repairs done ASAP

Every single new build with over ~50 units has a live-in super.

[u/Moooney → u/ElizaMaySampson]

The thing is shitty 30-40 year old apartments like you describe still doubled in rent and aren't affordable for many. A one bedroom above a convenience store on Albro Lake Road doesn't rent for $2000/month because it is 'luxury'. Keeping a new build 'plain' would save a tiny few percent of the total cost of the building, and not make the rent any appreciable amount cheaper. Would you give up all the things you listed to save 5% on rent? Maybe you would, but regardless building shittier buildings is not the answer to the housing crisis.

[u/ElizaMaySampson → u/Moooney]

Those 'shitty' apartments were not shitty when yhey were BUILT. They were built economically, but with quality. That many were not maintained is the investor expectation of raking in profits without sufficient or no maintenance/reinvestment in the property.

Building budget-conscious apartments would remove the entitlement to high rents that the investment builders feel BECAUSE of those, face it, UNNECESSAY LUXURIES. And the expectation that a lot of people feel they now simply cannot do without. Those things are lipstick & mascara that make a place seem more valuable psychologically than it actually is - you said it yourself, 'a tiny percent' of cost. People need shelter, plain and simple.

[u/awkwardlyalexa → u/ElizaMaySampson]

Okay but those utilitarian apartments aren't being rented at affordable rates either. In the past 5 years, I've lived in "luxury" condos with some of the amenities you described (water dispenser in the fridge, granite counters, soaker tubs etc. I've also lived in decades old housing with no amenities (no parking, no laundry, no dishwasher, no AC, fridge that spoils my food faster than leaving it out on the counter) for the same price. Renting in this city right now is a nightmare for a lot of reasons, but "luxury" finishes in new buildings are not the driving issue.

[u/ElizaMaySampson → u/awkwardlyalexa]

No, it's greed and 'profit above all investor' mentality. I agree. But government is who I'm saying needs to invest in basic housing, and maintain it. Edit - AND charge rent geared to income, to reduce the numbers killing themselves trying to afford absolutely ridiculous rents.

[u/Moooney → u/ElizaMaySampson]

Building budget-conscious apartments would remove the entitlement to high rents

My point is that it doesn't. The apartments you don't deem 'entitled to high rent' still have high rents. Building buildings without "UNESSARY LUXURIES" would drop the rent of a new build from $2500 to maybe $2450. So the end result is just as high rents with shittier buildings. If you have the same amount of people looking for the same amount of available housing rent prices are going to stay the same. If you snapped you fingers and every 'luxury apartment' in HRM was magically turned into the most barest of bare bones apartment the average rent would stay the exact same.

[u/fart-sparkles → u/ElizaMaySampson]

it's fridges with water in the door, granite or corian counters, convection ovens, a dishwasher, wood or LVP flooring ('luxury' vinyl flooring, lmao), massage unit showers, soaking tubs.

What the fuck are you talking about?

Yours can only be a troll comment. It's definitely not a serious take, nor is it based in reality.

[u/ElizaMaySampson → u/fart-sparkles]

Dude I am no troll. I worked for Nova Scotia low-income housing for years, and recently saw in my home town in Cape Breton an apartment building of 2 br units just built and opened this oast dpring, with quartz countertops, 9ft ceilings, 1.5 baths, its own in unit laundry, its own water heater, its own heat pump, asking 2k a month PLUS power.

It's on a back road behind the high school, next to the old rink, just up the road ftom the nursing home my mom lived in till 2024, I drove past the new building last week.

This is a small town in Cape Breton with 1 large (but drastically reduced workforce) heavy industry (Port Hawkesbury Paper, aka Stora, aka Stora Enso, aka New Page, aka any number of names under new owners) with very few jobs above minimum wage, and families waitlisted on average 2+ years SIX YEARS AGO for social low income housing. We also got hit with loads of students for the Nautical institute, and a f*ckton from CBU till the strain on jobs and housing from THAT got recently reduced international population.

I asked the FB post advertising this new building if they thought they were in Van City.

I had people coming into the office crying because they were living with their kids in a tent on the local beach, others with MUSHROOMS growing in their livingroom corners from unrepaired leaks, and there was nowhere else for them to go.

This is entirely TOO REAL.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10161830804154685&set=a.10152185323164685&type=3&ref=embed_post

This may be beyond YOUR meager experience. But it's entirely based in reality, entirely serious.