Habitat for Humanity Mid Vancouver Island executive director Jeff Krafta hopes this envisioned project on Metral Dr. will be under construction by later this year. (Habitat for Humanity)

By Ian Holmes

New era

Local Habitat for Humanity chapter alters course to mitigate housing crisis

Apr 7, 2024 | 6:55 AM

NANAIMO — Increased density and a lease as opposed to ownership model signifies a bold new approach by a local non-profit organization determined to more meaningfully combat high housing costs.

Habitat for Humanity Mid Vancouver Island executive director Jeff Krafta formally unveiled its plans at a Friday, April 5 event at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel in downtown Nanaimo.

The organization hopes to obtain a building permit and have construction start later this year on a planned 25 unit, three-storey complex at 5915 Metral Dr.

“It’s a litmus test for us, it’s going to be the biggest project on Vancouver Island for Habitat for Humanity,” Krafta told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Habitat for Humanity’s planned 25 unit complex on Metral Dr. features five accessible units. (Habitat for Humanity)

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Already with a development permit approved, the project located just south of Doumont Rd., would double the non-profit’s mid Island housing inventory.

Instead of the historical model of Habitat for Humanity clients owning their home outright with the right to sell, Krafta said their future homes will be leased, with clients obtaining an escalating equity stake when they move out.

He said their chapter has lost seven homes in the last two years since it didn’t make financial sense to buy the homes for another family in need given current market conditions.

“We don’t run the risk of potentially losing those units to market housing and also if we have a lease model we qualify for funding and financing streams we wouldn’t normally qualify for,” Krafta said.

Krafta said monthly lease rates will either be 80 per cent of what the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation considers the local area’s median rental rate, or 30 per cent of the household’s monthly income, whichever is more affordable for a particular family.

“We are in a housing crisis, it’s all well and good to build a nice house for one family, but in order to make an impact in the community we need to make sure that we’re doing ten times what we’re currently doing,” Krafta said, noting the cost of land and construction makes single family builds an unviable solution.

Most of Habitat for Humanity’s nearly 30 homes in the region between the Cowichan Valley and Oceanside are located in the Nanaimo area.

The organization welcomed its latest partner family to an Extension Rd. home in south Nanaimo late last summer.

More information on Habitat for Humanity Mid Vancouver Island, including donating to the organization, can be found on their website here.

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