Halifax Water rate hike will drive up rents, landlords say

Taryn Grant · CBC News

· Posted: May 13, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Two complaint hikes projected by Halifax Water volition thrust up rents successful the municipality's already strained lodging market, according to an relation that represents landlords.

The Rental Housing Providers of Nova Scotia has filed for intervener presumption successful the h2o utility's exertion to the Nova Scotia Regulatory and Appeals Board, submitting a short missive connected Monday in which the manufacture radical said it's "deeply concerned" astir the projected complaint changes.

Kevin Russell, enforcement manager of Rental Housing Providers of Nova Scotia, said he's gathering grounds to marque his lawsuit to the board.

"It's conscionable different outgo that the manufacture volition person to bear, which yet volition extremity up successful rents," Russell said successful an interview.

Halifax Water applied to the committee earlier this period for complaint increases that would travel into effect implicit 2 years.

The inferior is asking for a 16.2 per cent summation successful the mean residential measure successful the 2025 fiscal year, which began April 1, and an further 17.6 per cent summation successful the 2026 fiscal year.

Russell said helium doesn't person nonstop numbers connected however galore rental units see h2o successful the rent and however galore units necessitate tenants to wage their h2o bills directly. However, helium said the bulk of purpose-built rental buildings person h2o included, portion galore units successful household homes bash not.

Russell said helium doesn't cognize what it volition look similar yet, but helium intends to suggest to the committee an alternate to what Halifax Water has proposed.

The committee has scheduled a nationalist proceeding for the substance successful September, wherever submissions from each participants tin beryllium reviewed and discussed earlier the committee makes a decision.

Private landlords aren't the lone ones disquieted astir Halifax Water's proposal.

'Every dollar counts'

Trish McCourt said this "significant" leap successful h2o costs volition beryllium hard to sorb for non-profit lodging operators. 

"Every dollar counts erstwhile it comes to non-profit lodging developments," said McCourt, enforcement manager of the Nova Scotia Non-Profit Housing Association, successful an interview.

"There's not a batch of places to spell to find that further gross for those kinds of increases, particularly erstwhile you're looking astatine thing happening reasonably soon," she added.

McCourt said her enactment has not applied to intervene successful the regulatory reappraisal of Halifax Water's case, but she didn't regularisation it out.

Like Russell, McCourt couldn't accidental precisely however galore non-profit lodging providers incur h2o costs themselves. But she said those who bash are apt looking astatine their budgets, trying to benignant retired however they mightiness accommodate bigger bills.

"Something similar h2o truly affects non-profits successful a precise akin mode to backstage organizations, but non-profits usually person little of a cushion."

In cases wherever the non-profit does not wage for water, McCourt said the interest is for the tenants.

"Of course, non-profit lodging providers person a batch much tenants that are astatine the much affordable extremity of the spectrum, needing much enactment erstwhile it comes to being housed and remaining housed. So adding an unexpected magnitude to their fund similar that is beauteous important for the tenants arsenic well."

'Rates indispensable increase'

In its submission to the board, Halifax Water said it's contending with an "urgent request to regenerate aging infrastructure," and a slew of outer pressures including inflation, accrued borrowing costs and accrued labour and worldly costs. The inferior said these factors are driving up the shortage and the need for higher rates.

Halifax Water's budgeted shortage for the 2024 fiscal twelvemonth was much than $18 million. In its exertion to the board, the inferior said without the projected complaint increases, the shortage would emergence to $37.1 cardinal this fiscal twelvemonth and $55.8 cardinal successful the adjacent fiscal year.

Two large infrastructure projects connected the docket are a caller $70-million operations centre and a astir $70-million acceptable of upgrades astatine the Windsor Street exchange in Halifax.

In a connection to CBC News, a spokesperson added that rates are the utility's lone backing source, and for the past 2 complaint applications Halifax Water utilized reserves and operating surpluses to support rates debased — an attack that it nary longer considers to beryllium an option.

"As a result, rates indispensable summation to code these fiscal challenges and support reliable h2o services," said Jeff Myrick.

Myrick said Halifax Water respects the concerns of landlords and welcomes their information successful the regulatory reappraisal process.