The Housing Needs Assessment is one of the recommendations from the 2021 Affordable Housing Commission Report and is intended to further our understanding of the needs of Nova Scotians. The Housing Needs Assessment will provide data and information on current and projected housing needs for each of the 49 municipalities in Nova Scotia. While some municipalities have already completed their housing needs assessment, this is not the case for the vast majority.
The data and information collected will also be used to inform the development of two new Housing Strategies: the Provincial Housing Strategy, as well as the Student Housing Strategy, which is focused on housing for post-secondary students studying in Nova Scotia.
For this project, UPLAND is collaborating with Turner Drake, CoLab and MountainMath. UPLAND is leading the engagement, which includes a province-wide public survey, business sector survey, first voice focus groups and interviews, as well as nearly one hundred engagement sessions with municipalities. post-secondary institutions and other stakeholders. The data collected will be used by all levels of government, private sector, and community housing partners to make evidenced-informed decisions about future investments in housing.