On this beautiful spring day, I think back to my childhood, when most days I hadn’t a care in the world. There were also days when I heard my parents negotiating as to which bills could be paid, after rent, and how much would be left for groceries. When I was old enough to truly understand these conversations, I realized how much stress my parents lived with daily. They were among the working poor. They were also fortunate to be accepted into publicly supported housing – I was around 11 years old at that time. Before then, we were living year-round in an unwinterized cottage; it had its challenges… and rewards. In the new house, there were different challenges; rent was controlled, but all the other costs of living were not.
With the current real estate boom in Nova Scotia, we have seen the cost of housing increase on a regular basis. This could result in people being forced to leave our city and town centres if affordable housing is not available. This means longer commutes to work, and for some families, may mean the loss of one income because they cannot afford two vehicles. Every day affordable housing is becoming increasingly more important. So, what is affordable housing? Is it just the cost to construct, or should we be looking at the total cost of ownership? These two approaches will result in very different products and consequences for the future owner or tenant.
“The true victim of the current situation is not that poor soul with annual household income of $200,000-plus... It’s the person of far more modest means for whom “affordable” continues to climb out of reach in our larger cities.”
Today, I work in the energy efficiency sector. Sometimes I think growing up poor has helped me in my role of identifying opportunities for businesses to save energy and costs. Over the past several years, I have completed energy audits on a wide variety of buildings, including typical apartments and affordable housing units. From my experience, the affordable housing units are generally energy efficient and have a fair amount of deferred maintenance. Low rents can mean tight margins and fewer dollars for investing in maintenance and upgrades. They can also mean tenants end up paying the utility bills. Incentive programs work and are a huge help, especially for retrofits!
Keeping energy costs to a minimum is not a luxury item. Walk-in closets, granite countertops, garages, bonus rooms and built-in surround sound systems are luxuries. Individuals and families on limited or fixed incomes should not be expected to live in subpar housing. There are some who consider energy efficient technologies over and above the minimum code requirements. As such, these important energy upgrades are viewed as a luxury and dismissed when considering affordable housing developments. They are dismissed because the goal is a quick return on investment, and energy costs are passed on to the tenants.
The goal should be creating the most energy efficient affordable housing within walking distance of essential amenities and/or good access to public transit. To make the cost of living truly affordable, energy efficiency beyond minimum code must be considered standard. Through building affordable housing units beyond base code, we will also improve building durability, tenant health, comfort, and financial stability. Further, we help real people maintain their dignity which truly adds to overall quality of life.
Roxanne Tate,
President | Tate Engineering Inc.
roxanne@tateengineering.com
902-576-3420 ext. 1