Housing waitlist grows in the Sault as delays mean delinquent tenants live rent-free

The number of people living in social housing in the Sault who have fallen behind on their rent has skyrocketed in recent years.

Officials with the social services board in the city said it’s a sign of the trying times, but add that delays at provincial offices aren’t helping the situation.

The social services board runs more than 1,000 units that are either subsidized or geared-to-income in the city. Typically, about five per cent of those tenants are significantly behind on paying rent.

"Since the pandemic has started what we've noticed is that our arrears have spiked and they're currently sitting at about five per cent of our housing portfolio," said Mike Nadeau from the board.

That means staff are working closer with these clients to collect payments. And there are multiple options to help people who are struggling.

"We have rental assistance, we have loan banks, utility banks, as well, that we offer people,” Nadeau said.

“However, once it gets to a certain point, eligibility may be limited to some folks."

Eventually, the board moves to evict delinquent renters. But major delays at the Landlord Tenant Board are holding up the process.

Despite the province's promise to hire more staff at those offices, there hasn't been a noticeable improvement on a local level.

"Before if we had arrears and we were looking for an eviction, it would probably take us about two months to get into the Landlord Tenant Board and get an eviction order and proceed,” Nadeau said.

“Now it’s taking us around 8 to 12 months and some of the evictions order that we're trying to secure is taking up to 24 months."

• Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
• Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox

CTV News reached out to the Ministry of the Attorney General, which oversees the landlord tenant board. They did not respond to questions before our deadline.

Nadeau said the backlog has a significant impact.

"It impacts our waitlists as people sit and they wait,” he said.

“The unit turnover is delayed and some of our vacancy rates are impacted. It does have a trickle-down effect across the whole system."