27-10-2008

Social Development Minister Mary Schryer has ordered her staff to review the management of low-income housing after the group Voice of Real Poverty said more than 50 low-income units in Moncton have sat empty while hundreds of people wait to move in. New Brunswick currently has a waiting list of 4,200 people, with 500 in Moncton.

Social Development Minister Mary Schryer has ordered her staff to review the management of low-income housing after the group Voice of Real Poverty said more than 50 low-income units in Moncton have sat empty while hundreds of people wait to move in. New Brunswick currently has a waiting list of 4,200 people, with 500 in Moncton. "What I would like to see is a complete provincial review of all our social housing to make sure we are not exceeding timelines extraordinarily." Schryer said there is a problem with turnaround time that needs to be dealt with. She said it often takes 30 to 60 days to repair units and prepare them for new tenants. She asked her staff in August to determine the average turnaround time for the province's 4,000 low-income housing units. The one unit that has been vacant for a year had suffered water damage, while several of the other empty Moncton homes have electrical issues… - Housing in disarray, Adam Huras, Telegraph-Journal, 21 Oct 2008.