Shared Housing / Supportive Housing

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Consultation has concluded

A public hearing was held on September 12, 2023, along with the passing of Second Reading on the proposed amendments contained within the Supplementary Report on Shared Housing

On September 12, 2023, Regional Council held a public hearing to allow members of the public the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the proposed amendments put forward within the Supplementary Report on Shared Housing. A link to the public hearing and decision of Council can be found here. A link to the meeting minutes can be found here.

Regional Council closed the public hearing, and after receiving minor points of clarification from Municipal staff, passed second reading, adopting the proposed amendments within the report. The amendments will now be sent along to the Province for Ministerial approval, at which point they will be formally adopted into the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

Regional Council has passed first reading and a date has been set for a Public Hearing on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 6:00pm.

On August 22, 2023, Regional Council passed second reading for amendments to remove Senior Citizens Housing use from the MU-1 zone in the Beaver Bank, Hammonds Plains, and Upper Sackville (BB/HP/US) Land Use Bylaw (LUB). This was a deferred motion from May 23, 2023, which included a Public Hearing, which was held and closed, on that evening. The amendment to the LUB, and other minor housekeeping amendments included in the motion are now ready to be adopted and put into effect, pending Ministerial approval.

At the same Regional Council meeting (August 22), Council passed first reading on an amended motion from the supplementary report, which was requested from the May 23 meeting. The motion proposes to make Senior Citizens Housing use an existing use, on any lot associated with an active permit, with a deadline to receive a Building Permit, and commence construction of the use no later than May 23, 2026. A link to the report, which contains both motions mentioned, can be found here. Please note, the amendment to the report, passed by Council on August 22, has not yet been added to the report linked above. Once that amendment is uploaded, a new link will be provided. In the interim, the amendment proposed and passed by Council applies to Attachment B of the Report, point #5 regarding "Appendix A-1", the first paragraph of Appendix A-1 now reads as follows:

"An existing Senior Citizens Housing use that was issued a development permit for Senior Citizens Housing prior to First Reading of this Appendix may only be re-issued for that use until May 23, 2023, and shall only be a permitted use for those properties listed below."  

A public hearing on this application will be held by Regional Council on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 6:00 p.m at the Council Chamber, 3rd Floor City Hall, 1841 Argyle Street, Halifax. 

This notice was posted to the HRM site on August 24, 2023 and on this site on August 24, 2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.

A supplementary report has been created by HRM staff for Regional Council's consideration, on August 22, 2023.

Through Regional Council direction on May 23, 2023, Staff have prepared a supplementary report outlining a way to provide all applicants with an active permit for Senior Citizens Housing use a way to complete their projects over a longer period of time than the 12-month timeline originally required. The report will be discussed by Council on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. A link to the report can be found here.

As the public hearing was held on May 23 and closed by Regional Council later that evening, there is no further public hearing being held on August 22, 2023. However, should Council wish to pass the motions presented within the supplementary report, a public hearing will be set for those items (time extension for active permits) in the future. Any updates regarding a future meeting and public hearing will be updated on this website once dates have been set.

A public hearing was held on May 23, 2023. Regional Council made a motion to defer the proposed amendments to Shared Housing use and other minor housekeeping amendments to a later date.

Regional Council deferred the proposed amendments within the staff report pertaining to the removal of Senior Citizens Housing use within the MU-1 zone of the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville (BB/HP/US) Land Use Bylaw. The deferral of the amendments means that Senior Citizens Housing use has not yet been removed from the MU-1 zone, however, the first reading held on April 27, 2023 is still effective, meaning no further applications for Senior Citizens Housing use can be accepted by Planning & Development staff within the MU-1 zone of the BB/HP/US bylaw. 

Through the deferral, it is Regional Council's intention to provide all applicants with an existing and active Development and/or Building permit for a Senior Citizens Housing use, the ability to complete their project in a timely manner. Planning staff are now working on a supplementary report to be brought back to Regional Council to recommend a way to ensure all active applications can be accommodated. It is important to note that this proposed extension of time for the completion of projects is exclusively for applications to construct a Senior Citizens Housing use within the MU-1 zone of the BB/HP/US bylaw, this does not include the GU-1 zone.

An update to this page will be provided once a public hearing date has been set. 

The First Reading for Shared Housing amendments was passed by Regional Council on Tuesday April 25, 2023. A public hearing date has been set for Tuesday May 23, 2023.

A copy of the staff report (including the approved amendments) is now included in the document library section of this webpage.

A public hearing on this application will be held by Regional Council on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 6:00 p.m at the Council Chamber, 3rd Floor City Hall, 1841 Argyle Street, Halifax. 

This notice was posted to the HRM site on April 27, 2023 and on this site on May 9, 2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.

Shared Housing amendments were approved by Regional Council on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 and are in effect as of September 15, 2022. 

A copy of the staff report (including the approved amendments) and presentation are now included in the document library section of this webpage.

Project:
Shared housing is a broad term that describes housing shared by a group of individuals living under separate leases where support services may be provided.

Examples of shared housing include: residential care facilities; group homes; transitionary housing; and rooming houses/single room occupancies.

Project Status:

Shared Housing amendments were approved by Regional Council on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 and are in effect as of September 15, 2022. On August 9, 2022, HRM Regional Council approved the following motion:

That Halifax Regional Council adopt the proposed amendments to the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy, all Secondary Municipal Planning Strategies and all Land Use By-laws, as set out in Attachments A, B, and revised C of the staff report dated July 5, 2022 to establish consistent region-wide policies and regulations for shared housing.

As a part of the August 9, 2022 presentation to Regional Council, staff were directed to hold off on removing one permitted use (Senior Citizens Housing) that was to be replaced by the Shared Housing use, from the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville Land Use Bylaw. Regional Council asked that staff return to Council at a later date to remove the use, allowing more time for some projects to be completed within the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville planning area. Staff returned to Regional Council on April 25, 2023, to present the First Reading of proposed amendments to the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville Land Use Bylaw, removing Senior Citizens Housing use from the bylaw, as previously requested by Regional Council. A public hearing and Second Reading are scheduled for May 23, 2023.

Origin:
On August 1, 2017 Regional Council initiated a process to consider amendments to the Halifax Regional Municipal Planning Strategy and all applicable community municipal planning strategies/land-use By-laws to simplify, consolidate and remove barriers to the development of special care facilities. View the report.

Key Project Principles:

A key objective of the Regional Plan is to design communities that provide housing opportunities for a range of social and economic needs, and to promote inclusive communities and aging in place. Project principals include:

  • Shared housing should be considered a type of residential use
  • Shared housing uses should be permitted in all residential zones, although density limits will be placed to correspond with the scale of residential uses permitted in the zone
  • Shared housing should be considered a single type of use with one sub-use, not broken up into various types of uses
  • Larger scale shared housing uses, where residents may require more care, should continue to be permitted in institutional zones.

This approach for shared housing will ensure the removal of land use barriers and provide a consistent approach to a variety of housing forms including housing targeted towards seniors, those in need of support or personal care, those in need of affordable housing options or those seeking a group-style living situation.

Proposed Definitions:
A main principle of this project identifies the importance of reducing terms and definitions to describe shared housing uses. However, it is appreciated that different standards are warranted for shared housing uses that provide higher levels of care or require increased mobility standards. As such the proposed amendments include two definitions to describe shared housing uses: Shared Housing Use & Shared Housing with Special Care.

  1. SHARED HOUSING USE means a use that contains 4 or more bedrooms, that meets one or more of the following:
    i. that are rented for remuneration as separate rooms for residential accommodation; or
    ii. that are operated by a non-profit organization or a registered Canadian charitable organization that provides support services to the occupants of the shared housing use, and includes Shared Housing with Special Care but does not include short-term rental, hotel, motel, or tourist accommodation as defined in the Tourist Accommodation Regulation Act. For greater certainty, a shared housing use is not considered a multiple-family residential development.

The definition for Shared Housing will replace terms such as rooming/boarding houses, group homes and dormitories but could also be interpreted as a residential care use, long-term care, assisted care or housing targeted to seniors.

2. SHARED HOUSING WITH SPECIAL CARE means a type of Shared Housing Use that is designed to provide a level of care to residents with cognitive, physical or behavioural limitations, and for greater certainty, shared housing with special care may include individual dwelling units for occupants and must meet the definition of Shared Housing Use.

The definition for Shared Housing with Special Care will replace terms related to residential care facilities, long-term care, assisted care or housing targeted to seniors. The intent of this definition is to ensure developments of shared housing with special care are targeted to residents who require additional care or require a higher building standard (trigger a B3 or B2 occupancy in the building code) to include additional accessibility and safety features.

What do the Shared Housing Amendments Mean?

The proposed amendments will adopt a unified approach for shared housing and shared housing with special care throughout the municipality. Highlights of the proposed amendment include the following:

  • Shared housing will be considered a type of residential use and permitted in all residential zones
  • In low-density areas, shared housing will be permitted in conjunction with a permitted dwelling unit, meaning that all provisions for other permitted residential uses must be met. Examples of these provisions include parking, built form, setback, and accessory structure requirements. Shared housing in low-density zones will allow for up to 10 bedrooms per unit
  • In high-density zones shared housing will generally be subject to a similar built form and density requirement as multiple unit dwellings or existing shared housing type uses
  • Land use By-law provisions will focus on the building scale and level of care vs the age of residents or requirement for provincial licensing
  • Shared Housing with Special Care will standardize requirements for what was previously considered seniors housing region-wide, with a focus on ensuring a minimum standard of safety and building code requirements.

The proposed approach for shared housing is in alignment with other levels of government, as it ensures alignment between HRM’s land use planning documents and the Provincial Statement of Interest Regarding Housing and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Additionally, the proposed approach further removes barriers to expand community supports in the Department of Community Services’ Disability Support Program for small options homes.

Community Engagement:
In November 2017, staff held two public/stakeholder workshops and posted an online survey to receive feedback regarding this project. View the workshop presentation.

Questions? Want more information?
Please contact Matt Conlin, Planner III, Planning and Development
Telephone: 902-719-9457
Email: conlinm@halifax.ca

A public hearing was held on September 12, 2023, along with the passing of Second Reading on the proposed amendments contained within the Supplementary Report on Shared Housing

On September 12, 2023, Regional Council held a public hearing to allow members of the public the opportunity to provide feedback regarding the proposed amendments put forward within the Supplementary Report on Shared Housing. A link to the public hearing and decision of Council can be found here. A link to the meeting minutes can be found here.

Regional Council closed the public hearing, and after receiving minor points of clarification from Municipal staff, passed second reading, adopting the proposed amendments within the report. The amendments will now be sent along to the Province for Ministerial approval, at which point they will be formally adopted into the Municipal Planning Strategy and Land Use By-law.

Regional Council has passed first reading and a date has been set for a Public Hearing on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 6:00pm.

On August 22, 2023, Regional Council passed second reading for amendments to remove Senior Citizens Housing use from the MU-1 zone in the Beaver Bank, Hammonds Plains, and Upper Sackville (BB/HP/US) Land Use Bylaw (LUB). This was a deferred motion from May 23, 2023, which included a Public Hearing, which was held and closed, on that evening. The amendment to the LUB, and other minor housekeeping amendments included in the motion are now ready to be adopted and put into effect, pending Ministerial approval.

At the same Regional Council meeting (August 22), Council passed first reading on an amended motion from the supplementary report, which was requested from the May 23 meeting. The motion proposes to make Senior Citizens Housing use an existing use, on any lot associated with an active permit, with a deadline to receive a Building Permit, and commence construction of the use no later than May 23, 2026. A link to the report, which contains both motions mentioned, can be found here. Please note, the amendment to the report, passed by Council on August 22, has not yet been added to the report linked above. Once that amendment is uploaded, a new link will be provided. In the interim, the amendment proposed and passed by Council applies to Attachment B of the Report, point #5 regarding "Appendix A-1", the first paragraph of Appendix A-1 now reads as follows:

"An existing Senior Citizens Housing use that was issued a development permit for Senior Citizens Housing prior to First Reading of this Appendix may only be re-issued for that use until May 23, 2023, and shall only be a permitted use for those properties listed below."  

A public hearing on this application will be held by Regional Council on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 6:00 p.m at the Council Chamber, 3rd Floor City Hall, 1841 Argyle Street, Halifax. 

This notice was posted to the HRM site on August 24, 2023 and on this site on August 24, 2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.

A supplementary report has been created by HRM staff for Regional Council's consideration, on August 22, 2023.

Through Regional Council direction on May 23, 2023, Staff have prepared a supplementary report outlining a way to provide all applicants with an active permit for Senior Citizens Housing use a way to complete their projects over a longer period of time than the 12-month timeline originally required. The report will be discussed by Council on Tuesday, August 22, 2023. A link to the report can be found here.

As the public hearing was held on May 23 and closed by Regional Council later that evening, there is no further public hearing being held on August 22, 2023. However, should Council wish to pass the motions presented within the supplementary report, a public hearing will be set for those items (time extension for active permits) in the future. Any updates regarding a future meeting and public hearing will be updated on this website once dates have been set.

A public hearing was held on May 23, 2023. Regional Council made a motion to defer the proposed amendments to Shared Housing use and other minor housekeeping amendments to a later date.

Regional Council deferred the proposed amendments within the staff report pertaining to the removal of Senior Citizens Housing use within the MU-1 zone of the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville (BB/HP/US) Land Use Bylaw. The deferral of the amendments means that Senior Citizens Housing use has not yet been removed from the MU-1 zone, however, the first reading held on April 27, 2023 is still effective, meaning no further applications for Senior Citizens Housing use can be accepted by Planning & Development staff within the MU-1 zone of the BB/HP/US bylaw. 

Through the deferral, it is Regional Council's intention to provide all applicants with an existing and active Development and/or Building permit for a Senior Citizens Housing use, the ability to complete their project in a timely manner. Planning staff are now working on a supplementary report to be brought back to Regional Council to recommend a way to ensure all active applications can be accommodated. It is important to note that this proposed extension of time for the completion of projects is exclusively for applications to construct a Senior Citizens Housing use within the MU-1 zone of the BB/HP/US bylaw, this does not include the GU-1 zone.

An update to this page will be provided once a public hearing date has been set. 

The First Reading for Shared Housing amendments was passed by Regional Council on Tuesday April 25, 2023. A public hearing date has been set for Tuesday May 23, 2023.

A copy of the staff report (including the approved amendments) is now included in the document library section of this webpage.

A public hearing on this application will be held by Regional Council on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 6:00 p.m at the Council Chamber, 3rd Floor City Hall, 1841 Argyle Street, Halifax. 

This notice was posted to the HRM site on April 27, 2023 and on this site on May 9, 2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Halifax Regional Municipality Charter.

Shared Housing amendments were approved by Regional Council on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 and are in effect as of September 15, 2022. 

A copy of the staff report (including the approved amendments) and presentation are now included in the document library section of this webpage.

Project:
Shared housing is a broad term that describes housing shared by a group of individuals living under separate leases where support services may be provided.

Examples of shared housing include: residential care facilities; group homes; transitionary housing; and rooming houses/single room occupancies.

Project Status:

Shared Housing amendments were approved by Regional Council on Tuesday, August 9, 2022 and are in effect as of September 15, 2022. On August 9, 2022, HRM Regional Council approved the following motion:

That Halifax Regional Council adopt the proposed amendments to the Regional Municipal Planning Strategy, all Secondary Municipal Planning Strategies and all Land Use By-laws, as set out in Attachments A, B, and revised C of the staff report dated July 5, 2022 to establish consistent region-wide policies and regulations for shared housing.

As a part of the August 9, 2022 presentation to Regional Council, staff were directed to hold off on removing one permitted use (Senior Citizens Housing) that was to be replaced by the Shared Housing use, from the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville Land Use Bylaw. Regional Council asked that staff return to Council at a later date to remove the use, allowing more time for some projects to be completed within the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville planning area. Staff returned to Regional Council on April 25, 2023, to present the First Reading of proposed amendments to the Beaver Bank/ Hammonds Plains/ Upper Sackville Land Use Bylaw, removing Senior Citizens Housing use from the bylaw, as previously requested by Regional Council. A public hearing and Second Reading are scheduled for May 23, 2023.

Origin:
On August 1, 2017 Regional Council initiated a process to consider amendments to the Halifax Regional Municipal Planning Strategy and all applicable community municipal planning strategies/land-use By-laws to simplify, consolidate and remove barriers to the development of special care facilities. View the report.

Key Project Principles:

A key objective of the Regional Plan is to design communities that provide housing opportunities for a range of social and economic needs, and to promote inclusive communities and aging in place. Project principals include:

  • Shared housing should be considered a type of residential use
  • Shared housing uses should be permitted in all residential zones, although density limits will be placed to correspond with the scale of residential uses permitted in the zone
  • Shared housing should be considered a single type of use with one sub-use, not broken up into various types of uses
  • Larger scale shared housing uses, where residents may require more care, should continue to be permitted in institutional zones.

This approach for shared housing will ensure the removal of land use barriers and provide a consistent approach to a variety of housing forms including housing targeted towards seniors, those in need of support or personal care, those in need of affordable housing options or those seeking a group-style living situation.

Proposed Definitions:
A main principle of this project identifies the importance of reducing terms and definitions to describe shared housing uses. However, it is appreciated that different standards are warranted for shared housing uses that provide higher levels of care or require increased mobility standards. As such the proposed amendments include two definitions to describe shared housing uses: Shared Housing Use & Shared Housing with Special Care.

  1. SHARED HOUSING USE means a use that contains 4 or more bedrooms, that meets one or more of the following:
    i. that are rented for remuneration as separate rooms for residential accommodation; or
    ii. that are operated by a non-profit organization or a registered Canadian charitable organization that provides support services to the occupants of the shared housing use, and includes Shared Housing with Special Care but does not include short-term rental, hotel, motel, or tourist accommodation as defined in the Tourist Accommodation Regulation Act. For greater certainty, a shared housing use is not considered a multiple-family residential development.

The definition for Shared Housing will replace terms such as rooming/boarding houses, group homes and dormitories but could also be interpreted as a residential care use, long-term care, assisted care or housing targeted to seniors.

2. SHARED HOUSING WITH SPECIAL CARE means a type of Shared Housing Use that is designed to provide a level of care to residents with cognitive, physical or behavioural limitations, and for greater certainty, shared housing with special care may include individual dwelling units for occupants and must meet the definition of Shared Housing Use.

The definition for Shared Housing with Special Care will replace terms related to residential care facilities, long-term care, assisted care or housing targeted to seniors. The intent of this definition is to ensure developments of shared housing with special care are targeted to residents who require additional care or require a higher building standard (trigger a B3 or B2 occupancy in the building code) to include additional accessibility and safety features.

What do the Shared Housing Amendments Mean?

The proposed amendments will adopt a unified approach for shared housing and shared housing with special care throughout the municipality. Highlights of the proposed amendment include the following:

  • Shared housing will be considered a type of residential use and permitted in all residential zones
  • In low-density areas, shared housing will be permitted in conjunction with a permitted dwelling unit, meaning that all provisions for other permitted residential uses must be met. Examples of these provisions include parking, built form, setback, and accessory structure requirements. Shared housing in low-density zones will allow for up to 10 bedrooms per unit
  • In high-density zones shared housing will generally be subject to a similar built form and density requirement as multiple unit dwellings or existing shared housing type uses
  • Land use By-law provisions will focus on the building scale and level of care vs the age of residents or requirement for provincial licensing
  • Shared Housing with Special Care will standardize requirements for what was previously considered seniors housing region-wide, with a focus on ensuring a minimum standard of safety and building code requirements.

The proposed approach for shared housing is in alignment with other levels of government, as it ensures alignment between HRM’s land use planning documents and the Provincial Statement of Interest Regarding Housing and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Additionally, the proposed approach further removes barriers to expand community supports in the Department of Community Services’ Disability Support Program for small options homes.

Community Engagement:
In November 2017, staff held two public/stakeholder workshops and posted an online survey to receive feedback regarding this project. View the workshop presentation.

Questions? Want more information?
Please contact Matt Conlin, Planner III, Planning and Development
Telephone: 902-719-9457
Email: conlinm@halifax.ca