Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency (NSPHA) is a Crown corporation dedicated to providing deeply affordable housing to low-income Nova Scotians. As the largest social housing provider in the province, we operate and maintain more than 12,200 public housing units in a variety of building styles, from single-family homes to high-rise apartment buildings. We proudly house over 20,000 Nova Scotians.
This page presents a snapshot of public housing – from applicants to current tenants, as of March 31, 2025. The data on this page is updated quarterly.
Who We Serve
NSPHA provides safe and deeply affordable homes to more than 20,000 Nova Scotians.
| District | No. of tenants | % of total tenants |
|---|---|---|
| Metro | 7,034 | 34% |
| Cape Breton | 5,960 | 28% |
| Northern | 3,577 | 21% |
| Western | 4,410 | 17% |
| Province-wide | 20,981 | 100% |
Households by Tenant Type
NSPHA manages over 12,200 public housing units across Nova Scotia.
There are over 20,000 Nova Scotians living with NSPHA. By household type: individuals and couples under the age of 58 represent 6% of households, families (at least one adult and one dependent) 25% and seniors 69%.
Maximizing Housing Stock
The vacancy rate of public housing units as of March 31, 2025 is 2.4%.
Growing Demand for Public Housing
Although the NSPHA is housing more tenants than ever before by reducing the vacancy rate and unit turnaround times, demand exceeds the amount of existing housing stock. In response to this, the Province made a historic commitment to public housing with the creation of 515 new units across the province. This initiative is the largest investment in public housing in 30 years and will provide deeply affordable, rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing for over 1,300 Nova Scotians.
The public housing waitlist marks a point in time and can fluctuate because of population changes, housing market conditions, affordability challenges and the evolving needs of an aging population. The average time current applicants have spent on the waitlist is about 1.7 years, down from 2.3 years in 2022.
Waitlist Applicants by District:
| District | % | Avg. Time on Waitlist* |
|---|---|---|
| Metro | 44 | 2.0 |
| Cape Breton | 15 | 1.2 |
| Northern | 21 | 1.7 |
| Western | 21 | 1.5 |
| Province Wide | 100 | 1.7 |
*Wait times may shorten based on a number of factors, including: the number of buildings and communities the applicant selects, the size of the applicant's household, and the applicant's eligibility for priority access.
Priority Access
NSPHA provides priority access to public housing for Nova Scotians in vulnerable situations. For more information on priority access, click here. Households in the following circumstances are given priority access:
- experiencing homelessness,
- fleeing or experiencing family violence,
- living in inadequate housing, and;
- requiring housing near life sustaining health services.