Many applicants expected for ‘next big homeownership program’

The territory’s housing body will likely receive more applications under its new Nunavut Homeownership Assistance Program than it can approve, says vice-president of operations Jimmy Main.

Under the new initiative, Nunavummiut will receive financial assistance to buy a package of building materials that they’ll use to build their own home themselves.

Nunavut Housing Corp. wants to accept 10 to 15 applications this year, rising to between 40 and 50 for each round of applications in future years, Main said in an interview about the rollout of the program that was announced in August.

“I imagine we’ll have more applicants than we can assist — which is a good problem,” he said.

Prospective applicants have an Oct. 18 deadline to apply.

The Nunavut Homeownership Assistance Program is a re-introduction of a similar program from the 1980s — the Homeownership Assistance Program — which was run by the Northwest Territories government. Residents could choose a house design from a catalogue, receive materials at no cost and build their house themselves.

Widely considered a success, HAP was cost-effective and took pressure off social housing.

The modern version is dubbed NHAP and it’s something “everyone and their dog has been asking for,” Main said.

Baker Lake Mayor Kevin Iksiktaaryuk said he has spoken to a lot of residents who have expressed interest in applying, but haven’t yet.

“My hope is that people do take advantage of the program, because it’s a really aggressive way to create private homeownership,” he said in an interview.

When Iksiktaaryuk, a homeowner, first tried to buy a house in 2020, he said a contractor quoted $1.2 million for a 1,400-square-foot new build. NHAP removes that cost barrier.

“People that didn’t consider home ownership are now considering home ownership,” he said.

NHC will provide a $250,000 loan, forgivable over 10 years, for clients to buy the package of building material.

Those interested in applying must meet several Nunavut Housing Corp. requirements, including being older than 18 and able to finance the costs of home ownership. They must also be in good standing with local housing organizations or arrange an arrears payment schedule with the territory’s landlord.

Nunavut’s housing corporation will judge candidates based on a point system that accounts for their build plan’s ability to construct the house, credit rating and social criteria, such as whether they are Inuit beneficiaries and how long they have lived in Nunavut.

Main said there will be a two-stage approval process. In the first stage, the housing corporation accepts an applicant based on the point system. In the second, those applicants lease land from the hamlet, retain a lawyer and get a mortgage. After they complete those steps, they receive their official approval letter.

“I really want to see it succeed,” he said.

There are still several issues to work out. The largest is finalizing the catalogue.

The corporation partnered with a Winnipeg engineering firm to develop “modest designs,” Main said. The new houses may use structurally insulated panels, for example, which makes building easier for Nunavummiut with less trade experience.

The catalogue should be ready around December, when NHC plans to announce the shortlist of applicants, he said.

He expects the Nunavut Homeownership Assistance Plan to present challenges, such as ensuring applicants complete their units—a problem with which the old HAP struggled.

But overall, he considers it “the next big homeownership program.”

“The other 10 or 13 — or whatever it works out to — that do succeed is fantastic, because the government has a new dwelling established in the community for $250,000,” he said, “as opposed to the $750,000 we’re paying on a public housing unit.”