5,000 affordable housing units lost, 10,000 on the line as non-profits lose subsidies

Thousands of social housing units could land in private hands as operating agreements between the Manitoba government and non-profit organizations expire, creating a funding gap that may force organizations to sell buildings they can no longer afford.

Thousands of social housing units could land in private hands as operating agreements between the Manitoba government and non-profit organizations expire, creating a funding gap that may force organizations to sell buildings they can no longer afford.

In Manitoba, there are 200 non-profit housing organizations, and they provide about half of the province's social housing.

Many of these organizations signed an agreement in the '80s and '90s that allowed the non-profits to own and operate a building, while for the duration of the mortgage on the building, the provincial government provided a subsidy so they could offer units to low-income tenants.

Now those agreements are coming to an end and the result could be a repeat of what happened earlier this year, when Lions Place — a 284-unit non-profit housing complex in Winnipeg — was sold to a private Alberta firm.

"My worst fear is that a number of non-profits will have to sell their buildings, and we'll lose what has taken decades to build," said Christina Maes Nino, executive director of the Manitoba Non-profit Housing Association.