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I just read the AllNS piece where a landlord complains about the struggles of fixing up rundown units to house "middle income" tenants. I certainly am not a subject matter expert, but... I do have a few things to say about this.
First, not just "middle income" tenants should have decent places to live (by decent, I mean clean, well-maintained, safe, and functional. I’m not talking quartz countertops here, folks, though, for the record, I love those).
We need to talk about what he means by “middle income.” That’s a tricky term. I like this article about it: https://www.macleans.ca/economy/why-everyone-feels-like-theyre-in-the-middle-class/
So, let’s go by JT’s definition of $90k as a middle-class household income, just for fun (although in NS in 2017, the median total income for families was $85,970, or just 92.5% of the nat'l avg...
...And this doesn’t allow for single-income households, which had a median income in NS of $40,760 in the same timeframe).
So, JT’s $90,000 gross income here in NS leaves you with about $62,000. If you spend the recommended max. 30% on housing (which includes utilities), that means you should be spending no more than $1,550 on rent, water & power.
(The true media income in NS actually leaves you with $59,602, which translates to $1,490 & change to spend on rent, water and power).
If you’re single in NS, your income is probably closer to $31,498 after tax, which means you should pay no more than $1,019 on rent.
If you’re single in NS, your income is probably closer to $31,498 after tax, which means you should pay no more than $1,019 on rent.
GOOD. FUCKING. LUCK. I’ve not been on the hunt for a rental unit for a long time, but from what I’ve seen on Twitter lately, the rates are much higher than that.
We aren’t privy to what Barrett’s profit margins are, b/c he’s a private business owner. But I’d hazard to guess he’s doing quite well if he’s buying up multi-unit buildings in HRM right now (no matter how “run down” they are).
And if speculators are able to buy entire buildings & leave them vacant until emergency rent control ends, well, I guess they aren’t struggling the same way normal folks are right now.
