Canada/Winnipeg seeks to transform vacant homes into affordable housing

The City of Winnipeg wants to make it easier to acquire vacant and abandoned properties and turn them into affordable housing.

A report from city administration to the Standing Committee on Property and Development suggests that non-profit organizations looking to build housing could have more opportunities to buy city-owned properties. This could be at a low price, starting at $1, anywhere in the city.

The city now wants to give its general manager the power to accept properties from owners who want to dispose of them before the tax sale process begins. Currently, such decisions must be voted on by City Council.

Winnipeg has a growing number of abandoned properties, some of which have burned down and remained piles of rubble for years.

In some situations, it may be more cost-effective to purchase a problem property rather than charge violation fees or incur ongoing resource costs, writes Marc Pittet, Director of the City of Winnipeg's Planning, Property and Development Department.

In addition, some owners may wish to transfer their property to the City before it goes up for sale, reducing the number of years that normally elapse before the City takes control of a property.

The Chair of the Standing Committee on Property and Development, Councillor Sherri Rollins, believes that the proposed change would speed up the process of neighbourhood revitalization.

There are so many costs associated with properties being tied up, abandoned, vacant or in disrepair," she says. So this would be a good solution.

A campaigner for more affordable housing, Christina Maes Nino says that other cities have managed to set up similar programs, and have had some success in adding units to the housing stock.

It won't be enough to solve Winnipeg's housing crisis. To do that, we need to use every tool in the housing toolbox," she says.

I'd love to see these properties cleaned up and repaired so that families can move into the neighborhood," says Darrell Warren, president of the William Whyte Neighborhood Association.

In his neighborhood, on Powers Street, four houses that have fallen prey to the flames could be transformed into new housing.

On Thursday, the City of Winnipeg's Standing Committee on Property and Development voted on the city administration's recommendation. The report's recommendations must still be approved by City Council.

In May 2023, the provincial government announced that it would sell six Point Douglas homes, seized under The Criminal Property Forfeiture Act, to non-profit or aboriginal organizations. These organizations would purchase each home for $1, and then renovate them into affordable housing.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/