NS forced to live in family tents outside rental market on South Coast – Halifax | Globalnews.ca

A campground in Lunenburg, NS, is the only temporary home of Jessica Smith and her family that can be found after months of searching.

“We had short-term rentals from October to June 1. So, from October 2021 to now, we are looking for rentals,” Smith said.

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

“The rent has gone up a lot. If anything is available, whether it’s short-term or there’s a lot of Airbnbs happening right now, or there just isn’t enough room for a large family, it’s appropriate,” she said.

Smith decided to share her family’s struggle publicly because she knows there are many others in a similar situation.

“The government and everyone should know what is really happening. They should try to do something for the families who do not have a house and who are not eligible to buy a house. They need to hear us,” he said.

community The family is rallying behind with support and extensive efforts to find suitable housing.

“A stranger… reached out to me and she’s gathered a lot of people who are donating to stay at Airbnbs, she’s also promoting small businesses. So, every day she sets out to donate something. Trying to get the small business, and then they’re going to auction it off,” she said.

Smith says the kindness of strangers as well as the strong bonds of her family are helping her get through this challenging time.

Town of Lüneburgh Mayor Matt Risser says the housing crisis is a widespread issue affecting municipalities across the province.

“I would say the need is acute. I would say that right now we have a lot more demand than supply. I think the province is assessing housing needs for all municipalities this year, and I think our demand Will reflect the demand here,” Riser said.

He describes the housing need as “demonstrable” and states that the Lüneburg city council has implemented bye-laws and land-use changes to try and encourage the construction of more stock.

“We have allowed more density where people are able to build. We have allowed more-than-perfect development, which means people only need a permit so that they do not get stuck in public hearings,” he said.

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

“We have to be careful not to make any one particular factor the scapegoat. The biggest aspect of this is that the demand exceeds the supply,” he said.