Affordable rent-to-own housing program coming to North Central

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In the name of revitalization, three partners have come together to create an affordable rent-to-own program meant to bolster housing security in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood.

A memorandum of understanding between the City of Regina, Government of Saskatchewan and Silver Sage Housing Corporation was signed Monday afternoon, formalizing a framework to guide the partnership.

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“Home ownership is a dream, not just for our community but for every community,” said Tribal Chief and Silver Sage board chair Jeremy Fourhorns. “We truly believe home ownership should be accessible to everyone, and this is a key to making that happen.”

Minister of Social Services Gene Makowsky, Mayor Sandra Masters and president and CEO of Silver Sage Natoshia Bastien were also present at the announcement, which marks another step forward in the city’s recently adopted North Central Revitalization Initiative (NCRI).

The program will be administered by Silver Sage as a third-party operator and begin with 10 single-family homes that will be transferred from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) to the affordable housing non-profit.

Applicant criteria is still being developed, but Bastien said the vision is to require households have a combined income of no less than $50,000 a year, and offer ownership on the property title in 15 years or an equity buyout in 10 years.

Bastien and Masters have been discussing rent-to-equity ideas for at least two years, culminating in this program. It represents a significant piece of the puzzle laid out in the NCRI and a pathway to increase home ownership, while avoiding pricing people out of their community.

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“The housing security piece is important, stabilization of the neighbourhood is important, and affordability is important,” said Masters. “I think that’s really the vision that we share.”

Crafted by Masters and Ward 3 councillor Andrew Stevens, the North Central revitalization initiative is a multi-faceted action plan aimed to rehabilitate the core neighbourhood’s image by addressing social, economic and housing needs.

Visualized as a decade-long project, the NCRI plans to improve cleanliness and safety, crack down on nuisance or derelict properties, further activate the Mâmawêyatitân Centre, improve transit options and local social spaces, and liven up Dewdney Avenue with more retail options like a grocery store.

So far, the city has green-lit a youth advisory group called North Central Strong, and set in motion a city-owned land trust to buy properties in tax arrears, which would then be flipped into usable housing options.

Core to the NCRI’s philosophy, say Masters and Stevens, is ensuring transformation work is done with community input, and in incremental steps to avoid gentrification.

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“We want the people who are there to be the first ones in,” agreed Fourhorns on Monday.

Bastien called this rent-to-own pathway a “critical stepping-stone” to housing security in Regina.

In a recent survey, she said more than 90 per cent of Silver Sage’s tenants indicated an interest in home ownership, but barriers like down payments and credit scores are holding them back.

Of the approximately 4,300 homes in North Central, the current split between rentals and home ownership is about 50/50 on the east side, according to city data.

Bastien anticipates great interest in the program once it’s up and running. She estimated applications could open in as soon as three months, pending assessment and renovation of SHC’s properties. Makowsky confirmed the Ministry of Social Services will cover those costs.

Though Silver Sage’s program is set to start small, the greater NCRI vision looks to the city’s incoming land trust to also provide properties. Masters says the city already holds just under 20 such properties across the city.

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Silver Sage also operates Horse Dance Lodge, a 29-unit supportive housing facility that was the first project pursued with the City of Regina and SHC through the federal Rapid Housing Initiative, and the Sun Lodge elders’ complex.

lkurz@postmedia.com

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