Local officials push for change as federal numbers fail to reflect rising rents
Efforts to build affordable housing in Prince Edward County are being stifled by unreliable federal rent data, local officials say — a problem that’s putting critical federal funding just out of reach.
In the small, tourism-driven community on the shores of Lake Ontario, one non-profit is trying to transform a shuttered public school into a housing complex for low-income seniors. But securing a loan from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has proven to be a major challenge.
“It's like you're swimming upstream — all the time,” said Ken How, a retired teacher and head of Pinecrest Housing, the group behind the redevelopment project.
The group purchased the former Pinecrest Public School in Bloomfield, along with 20 acres of surrounding land, for around $400,000. Their plan is to convert it into 56 mixed-rent apartments with medical, fitness, and community space for seniors.
But to do that, they need more capital, and CMHC isn’t making it easy.
Pinecrest Housing has raised over $1 million so far, but the full cost of the conversion will run several million more. How said the biggest barrier to a CMHC loan is the agency’s rental affordability formula, which is based on its own calculation of market rent, not what tenants in the area are actually paying.
CMHC requires that affordable rents be priced at least 20% below market, but How said CMHC’s market rent data is far below the actual cost of renting in Prince Edward County, making the math impossible.
“CMHC is saying, ‘OK, this is the rent for your region.’ And it’s not an achievable number. It’s certainly not a number that we can afford to pay them back,” How told CBC News, adding that CMHC’s figures are ‘bogus’.”
In 2020, Prince Edward County began collecting its own rental data, saying national surveys were failing to reflect conditions in rural markets.
“We now have a clearer picture of what residents are actually paying — and the true number is much higher than what CMHC is reporting,” said Elis Ziegler, the county’s affordable housing supervisor.
While CMHC estimates the median rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,200, the county’s own research, updated as listings become available, shows it’s closer to $1,650.
“CMHC data is consistently less than what's actually being charged here for rent, which makes it impossible for non-profits and private developers to build affordable housing,” Ziegler said.
Still, Ziegler said CMHC refuses to accept the county’s data or explain why. In a written statement, CMHC said it is “confident” in its data and methodology and added that working with municipalities is “crucial” to accuracy.
Councillor Phil St-Jean, who chairs the county’s affordable housing corporation, brought forward a motion in March urging CMHC to allow “locally generated rental market data” to be used in funding applications.
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“Because CMHC doesn’t recognize any of our numbers, they don’t recognize that we are an area that is in need,” St-Jean said. “There’s this absence of data, and they’re not willing to accept that their data is flawed.”
He believes the problem isn’t isolated.
“They’re completely underrepresenting the seriousness of the problem, particularly in rural Ontario,” St-Jean said. “Essentially [CMHC is] saying you don’t exist and you don’t have a problem.”
Despite the challenges, How hasn’t given up on the Pinecrest project. He said a small adjustment to CMHC’s rent calculations could unlock vital financing.
“If that [market rent] is raised just a little bit… it will impact us greatly,” he said.
Municipal support has been strong, he noted, but federal backing remains elusive.
Asked by the mayor if he’d consider taking on another school-to-housing conversion, How didn’t hesitate.
“Yes, it makes sense, yes I think it’s easily convertible, and yes, it would be a fabulous building,” he said. “But [we’re] not getting any help doing this one.”
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