Social Services Minister June Draude announced details of a five-point action plan to add at least 4,600 new housing units over the next five years and make it easier for Saskatchewan people with modest incomes to purchase new homes. Total investments in housing from these five initiatives over the next five years will be more than $252 million.
The five housing initiatives outlined in The Saskatchewan Advantage Housing Plan include:
Headstart on a Home;
The Affordable Home Ownership Program
Rental Construction Incentive
$34 Million Investment in Rental Housing
Habitat for Humanity Partnership
Headstart on a Home
Headstart on a Home and The Affordable Home Ownership Program are designed to stimulate the construction of new affordable homes and support municipal efforts to assist new buyers to purchase a home.
The Affordable Home Ownership Program
The Affordable Home Ownership Program will see the provincial government match municipal tax incentives with a grant equal to a five-year education property tax incentive on municipally designated new homes.
Rental Construction Incentive
Through the Rental Construction Incentive, the provincial government will partner with municipalities to increase the supply of new rental housing construction.
$34 Million Investment in Rental Housing
Nearly $34 million in new funding has been set aside to for two purposes: (1) to develop more affordable rental housing in communities with a long-term housing need; and (2) to rejuvenate government-funded housing across Saskatchewan - rehabilitating homes and rental units that would be lost to the housing market without major work.
For more information on the housing action plan and new housing programs, visit Social Services' website at www.socialservices.gov.sk.ca/housing.
