P.E.I.'s affordable housing program isn't delivering desired results, says Auditor General

Gwyneth Egan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 13, 2025 4:32 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Prince Edward Island's Affordable Housing Development Program fell abbreviated of its intended purpose, the province's Auditor General says.

A study from the Office of the Auditor General recovered glaring issues with however the programme is run, arsenic good arsenic with its wide interaction connected the instauration of affordable lodging units successful the province. 

"The programme has not had the planned oregon expected interaction connected expanding the inventory of affordable rental units for those successful halfway lodging need," the study said. 

"When units are not completed successful a timely manner, lodging availability is not improved, lodging costs increase, and those who are successful astir request of lodging are astatine hazard of homelessness."

The authorities measured the show of the programme based connected the fig of approved projects — not the fig of projects really completed, the AG study said. 

"The information that they're approved, that's great," said Darren Noonan, P.E.I.'s Auditor General. "But the eventual extremity is to get families disconnected [the societal housing] registry and into lodging units."

What is the Affordable Housing Development Program? 

The purpose of the Affordable Housing Development Program is to summation the wide fig of affordable lodging units connected P.E.I. and assistance fulfill the Housing Action Plan's extremity to make 1,000 affordable units implicit 4 years. 

Through the program, the authorities provided developers forgivable loans of up to $55,000 per unit, which was intended to enactment operation costs successful speech for keeping rental rates astatine an affordable level. 

Between 2020 and 2023, the authorities has provided $12.7 cardinal successful forgivable loans for 261 affordable units implicit a four-year period. Of those, 69 are completed, 63 are successful advancement and 129 person not started construction. 

At the clip the programme was started, determination were conscionable implicit 1,000 families connected the societal lodging registry, Noonan said. 

Had the programme produced the 261 units it was intended to, it could person provided homes for astir 25 per cent of the registry, Noonan said. 

The Auditor General's report 

The Office of the Auditor General besides recovered that the authorities did not adequately cod accusation connected dates of backing agreements, updates from developers oregon expected operation dates.

That lack of documentation "reflects a deficiency of attraction to the program," Noonan said. 

The authorities should beryllium moving with developers arsenic partners, helium said. 

"If they're not starting a project, find retired why. What tin they bash to help?" helium said. "It's a large problem, the fig of affordable lodging units connected the market, truthful determination has to beryllium a mode to enactment with developers to assistance hole the problem." 

The Office of the Auditor General provided 5 recommendations to the province, each of which were accepted. 

The state said successful the audit that it volition amended its record-keeping and however it reports connected the lodging program.