Finding affordable, accessible apartment 'impossible,' says Halifax couple

A Halifax couple struggling to find an apartment that fits their budget and also accommodates wheelchairs say accessible housing should be an election issue.

Tom and Donna White both use wheelchairs and say their two-month search for a suitable apartment has turned up nothing they can manage as pensioners.

"Trying to find an apartment that's affordable, that's accessible, is impossible. Especially on the peninsula," said Tom White.

Unreasonable rent

The Whites live in an accessible building in the city's north end that recently became non-smoking. White said he's quit cigarettes and his wife is in the process of doing so, but they both agreed it was time to move.

In March, their landlord told them they would have until the end of May to find new housing. 

Although their Almon Street apartment is just a stone's throw from three new apartment or condo developments, the Whites said those buildings are out of reach.

"We've been looking and looking and looking. The places we've been looking at, if they're accessible, they're $1,200, $1,500 a month," said White.

"If I could afford that kind of money a month, I'd buy a house."

Right design, wrong price

It is a familiar story to Darrell Robar, the manager of peer support at the Nova Scotia branch of the Canadian Paraplegic Association.

It just becomes very challenging and it's been a long-term problem with this province.- Darrell Robar, Canadian Paraplegic Association

He said although modern, open-concept building styles can work well for people in wheelchairs, they are generally priced out of the budget of clients who are pensioners or on disability assistance. 

"They don't have the money to really pay or afford higher-end apartments, which is what you see a lot being done now," he said.

Out of the organization's roughly 1,000 clients, Robar said staff are currently helping between 30 and 40 people who are searching for accessible homes. 

Better subsidies needed

"It just becomes very challenging and it's been a long-term problem with this province," he said. 

"Really, I don't see a lot of changes taking place unless we look at some better subsidies for people who are eligible."

He said the province could begin by constructing more affordable housing and raising the rate for shelter allowances under income assistance. For a family of two, the current basic rate is $570 for renters. 

White said something needs to be done to help seniors get into homes they can afford and live in comfortably.

"They're just trying to get out of their situations and get into a better situation, to improve their lifestyles and their standards," he said.

"And they can't do it because they can't get into affordable, decent, seniors accessible housing."