Fewer than 70 units built on P.E.I. in 5 years through affordable housing program: audit

Prince Edward Island's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday, July 6, 2020. (Adrian Wyld)

The Affordable Housing Development Program (AHDP) was started in 2019 to support the construction of affordable housing units in Prince Edward Island, but so far fewer than 70 have been built through the program, according to an audit.

The Office of the Auditor General of Prince Edward Island released its annual report on Thursday, which contained an overview of the ADHP from 2019 to 2024. The report found a total of $12.9 million in forgivable loans were approved through the ADHP, but only 69 units have been completed as of March 2024.

Construction is in-progress for 63 units. A total of 261 affordable housing units have been approved for construction.

“The objective of the AHDP is to increase the inventory of affordable rental units for those in core housing need,” the report reads.

The auditor general said the province defined “supported units” in the programs as units that were approved for funding, not the amount of units that were completed by developers.

“Given the objective of the program, we expected program performance measures would be directly related to providing those in core housing need with affordable housing,” the report reads. “Measuring how many units were approved for funding does not directly demonstrate whether the inventory of affordable rental units for those in core housing need is increasing. No performance measure was established which related to the completion of affordable rental units.

“The Department of Housing, Land and Communities and the PEI Housing Corporation should develop performance measures for the Affordable Housing Development Program that directly relate to the number of completed affordable rental units.”

The auditor general also recommended the province evaluate the ADHP on an annual basis to find any required modifications and provide annual updates on the impact of the program.

The province has agreed with all the recommendations and is working to implement them.

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