Changes made to housing legislation in Nova Scotia to accelerate supply

Homes are pictured at a suburb in Halifax on Nov. 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Nova Scotia has announced several changes to housing legislation, with the goal of accelerating supply.

The province says the amendments will mean “more housing, improved efficiency in the sector and better alignment of related agencies.”

The following changes have been made to the Housing Supply and Services Act:

• make the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency advisory board optional to provide flexibility and ensure consistency with other government agencies
• repeal interim board provisions.

These changes have been made to the Housing in Halifax Regional Municipality Act:

• extend the executive panel on housing in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) by two years
• give the minister of housing new order-making authority with Halifax Regional Municipality and Halifax Water to improve co-ordination of water, wastewater and infrastructure that enables growth so housing projects can move ahead without delays and stay affordable over the long term.

And the following changes have been made to the Municipal Government Act and the Halifax Regional Municipal Charter:

• give councils the ability to delegate oversight and performance management of a municipality’s chief administrative officer (CAO) to a council committee
• give councils explicit discretion to exclude or limit participation of their CAO in discussions and training sessions related to their performance
• clarify councils’ ability to manage CAO participation on external boards and committees, aligning CAO priorities with council expectations
• clarify councils’ ability to decide on long-term delegation of their CAO’s responsibilities during extended absences
• introduce mandatory orientation training for newly elected municipal councillors to ensure consistent understanding of responsibilities across the province
• provide the minister of municipal affairs with temporary regulated authority to amend HRM’s urban service area boundary to build out the infrastructure needed to support sustainable growth.

The province says changes will extend the executive panel on housing in the Halifax Regional Municipality and give Housing Minister John White new authority to ensure projects aren’t delayed.

The panel is a planning task force created to address housing challenges in the municipality. It has helped advance more than 60,000 housing units in the HRM, according to a provincial news release.

“We are strengthening how we plan, build and deliver housing across the province,” said White in the release.

“These changes will help us act faster and reduce the barriers that slow down housing projects so that more Nova Scotians will have access to the homes they need.”

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page