REGINA - A memorandum of understanding was signed Monday marking a first step towards more affordable home ownership options in Regina's North Central neighbourhood.
The MOU is between the Government of Saskatchewan, the City of Regina, and Silver Sage Housing Corporation to guide collaboration towards an affordable rent-to-own program in that area of the city. Signing the document at ceremonies held at The Sun Lodge in Regina were Social Services Minister and Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation Gene Makowsky, Mayor Sandra Masters, and File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council Chief Jeremy Fourhorns, who is board chair for Silver Sage.
Silver Sage will administer the program, which will see Saskatchewan Housing Corporation transfer up to 10 single-family units over to Silver Sage for the rent-to-own program.
Silver Sage will then screen the applicants and find the families who will move in. A portion of the monthly rental payments for the units would ultimately go to down-payments for those families to be able to buy the home.
Silver Sage President and CEO Natoshia Bastien explained how this latest rent-to-own initiative would work. Not all the details are in place on the eligibility criteria, but they are looking at $50,000 a year as probably the minimum income needed for the household.
“We’lll be a holding company for the units and then it’s basically the goal is ownership in 15 years or an equity pullout in 10,” said Bastien. With ownership you would stay in the home for 15 years at which time ownership would be transferred to the individual or the family. In an equity approach, after 10 years, you are able to pull out your principal less any repairs, “and that equity you pull out could be substantial if you maintain the units, so home ownership education is very important to the individuals that are selected for this program.”
Silver Sage has prior experience in the Regina market: it already operates Horse Dance Lodge, a 29-unit project completed last year that was Regina’s first Rapid Housing Initiative build.
Fourhorns said what this rent-to-own program will mean is stability for the families. He pointed to the “opportunities that come with owning a home, with having your own home.”
“A lot of us find that success because we have a stable place to go back to,” Fourhorns said.
Minister Makowsky says the hope is to have the 10 units up and running “as soon as possible,” though no exact dates were provided. There may need to be repairs or renovations done to the units prior to families moving in, and Makowsky said they would work on those. He looks forward to seeing how this pilot program rolls out.
"I’d say this is unique in Regina for sure," said Makowsky, saying there was a program in place in northern Saskatchewan that is also rent-to-own.
“Excited to have a partnership with two great entities able to use Sask Housing units that have had a challenge over time to be occupied. And so this, hopefully, will allow individuals a chance at home ownership, and have that support as well from Silver Sage. Looking forward to this pilot — 10 units to begin with and then go from there, but excited to see the results of it.”
This latest program is part of the City of Regina’s wider revitalization under way in North Central. Mayor Masters indicated this particular initiative had been in the works for more than two years, and is optimistic about what it will accomplish for the neighbourhood.
“We want to stabilize the neighborhood, we’d like more people living (there), we don’t want vacant properties, we want people living here,” Mayor Masters said to reporters. "It’s a beautiful neighborhood. Folks that live there are really proud of it. It’s got great school investments that have happened, more hospital investments, perhaps more recreational investment coming. We see it as having a real upside.”
She added that she thinks the “value is huge and you have to start somewhere.”
