Housing
Crisis

The Problem

Housing has become a speculative commodity, influencing both supply and demand, price and availability, in ways that do not benefit anyone outside of shareholders.

The Promise

An NCP government will end the housing crisis.

The Plan

The NCP will introduce The Saskatchewan Rental Rights Act:

The Act will enforce a residential rent freeze for 5 years. The freeze will sunset after that time. This will give renters immediate relief and peace of mind, knowing they have some stability and time to adjust to the recent rapid increases to rent over the past five years.

All new builds will be exempt from this rent freeze, so long as their starting rents are not above the median rent for comparable units in the same municipality, as determined by the Office of Residential Tenancies using standardized data. New-build exemptions will apply only to genuinely new net housing supply and not to cosmetic conversions, nominal reconfigurations, related-party transfers, or other arrangements designed primarily to evade the rent freeze or annual cap.

Upgrades for life and safety, building envelope, and accessibility will be eligible for Capital Repair Pass-Throughs under clear rules to be set by the Office of Residential Tenancies. Only verified capital repairs for life-safety, accessibility, building envelope, or code compliance purposes will qualify. Cosmetic work, deferred maintenance, related-party over-billing, and duplicate claims will not qualify.

New builds and all residential rents following the freeze will be allowed to increase their rents on an annual basis with a cap of Saskatchewan's annual CPI inflation + 0.5%.

All residential landlords in the province must submit information about their property and proof of ownership to a new Saskatchewan Rental Registry, run by the Office of Residential Tenancies.

This registry will be public, with maps and lists of rental units showing key information so renters can easily see and make an informed choice on where to live. Landlords who do not register will not be eligible for any grants or rebates.

Starting the year the Act comes into force, from October 1 to April 30 of the following year, residential landlords are prohibited from evicting tenants, except in cases of serious health and safety concerns or severe, proven lease violations, such as property destruction, as determined by an independent tribunal.

Rebates will be available from the Government of Saskatchewan for owners who complete safety, accessibility, or energy upgrades, including upgrades to meet new modern building standards.

A vacancy tax and a dormant land tax will be put in place on long-term empty and unused residential units or lots, to ensure speculators and profiteers pay for keeping potential livable homes off the market. Primary residences and short, documented transition periods will be exempt under clear rules. Exemptions, transition periods, and occupancy rules will be tightly defined by regulation, with audit powers and penalties to prevent sham occupancy, nominee ownership, artificial lot splitting, and other avoidance schemes.

The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) will receive major new investments and be directed to complete a Rapid Rebuild Program for its public housing stock by renovating existing units and purchasing, long-term leasing, or master leasing existing housing units.

The SHC will hire and use prequalified contractors to immediately begin inspecting and renovating every unit within SHC's housing supply, starting with the most neglected and distressed units. For clarity, this will be done on all units in the province, not just those in the major cities.

To incentivize private development in markets with low vacancy or high waitlists, the SHC will offer to pre-lease 15% of family-sized, seniors', or accessibly designed housing units in new developments and builds for a 15-year term. The operations and management of these units will be handled by the SHC.

SGI will be instructed to offer optional renters and housing insurance as part of its main operations, making sure that such insurance is as cheap and ubiquitous as its auto insurance.

SGI housing insurance rates will vary to reward retrofitting and upgrades such as weatherization, heat pumps, solar power, battery storage, modern code compliance, and other improvements. These upgrades will qualify homeowners for lower premiums. We will reward those who invest in the future. Rental insurance rates will be tied to rent amount to avoid punishing those with landlords unwilling to retrofit their units.

The Office of Residential Tenancies shall establish regulations, audit powers, reporting requirements, and penalties to prevent avoidance, misrepresentation, artificial restructuring, or other gaming of this Act, including attempts to evade rent caps, taxes, registry requirements, repair rules, or affordability conditions through related-party transactions, sham vacancies, false declarations, or unit reclassification.

Saskatchewan needs homes that will meet the needs of its people where they are, both today and in the future. An NCP government will immediately start creating a standardized housing design book for Saskatchewan-made homes.

These "SaskHomes" will have universal modular designs, using standardized supplies and materials, so that they can be built easily on site by hand, the traditional way we know how, and also off-site in a new prefab modular housing factory. The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation will order 100,000 units for public housing over 15-20 years, across the entire province, ensuring that the factory has the demand to operate at full capacity, 24/7, and that people have homes within their lifetimes.

• See Policy 19 - Manufacturing for more.

There will be a variety of unit types, like single-family homes that have a full unit downstairs, accessible seniors' mid-rises, walk-ups, and townhouses. These units will be accessible by design so that, no matter your ability, you can live with dignity and comfort. They will also be 100% compliant with modern building codes and be connected by default to the new geothermal ambient loops to heat and cool the home.

• See Policy 06 - 21st Century Connected Communities for more.

For public SaskHomes, rent will be set at 35% of family income. Family income means the combined income of the tenant and their married or common-law spouse or partner. Unrelated roommates will be treated as separate benefit units and assessed separately. Where multiple benefit units share one dwelling, rent will be apportioned among them under rules set by regulation, and the total charged for the unit shall not exceed the lawful rent for that unit.

No residential rental unit may have its lawful rent increased more than once in any 12-month period. A change in tenancy does not reset the annual rent-increase clock for that unit. The Saskatchewan Rental Registry will record the lawful rent history of each unit for enforcement purposes.

Homeowners will have access to low- or no-interest loans, depending on their yearly income, through SaskEnergy, SaskPower, and the SHC to retrofit existing homes to meet modern building code standards. The updated building codes will be written in consultation with industry experts to ensure that all future builds and retrofits are ready for the 21st century, but the new standards must include:

• Meeting "Passive House" level or equivalent efficiency.
• Being "Net-Zero" and climate-resilient.
• Being super insulated and weatherized inside and out.
• Ensuring clean indoor air that is ready for the heaviest wildfire smoke and respiratory pandemics with air exchange and HEPA filtration at 6-8 Air Changes per hour (ACH).
• Being universally accessible with:
• Wide spaces for mobility devices.
• Braille and tactile features where appropriate.
• Both auditory and visual alarm systems.
• Being prewired and structurally ready for decentralized energy options like solar panels and battery storage.
• Provide abundant natural light.
• Building materials that are:
• Non-toxic.
• Fire-resistant.
• Documented via "Material Passports" (records of all materials used, their location, and expected lifespan) so we know what was used, where, and when it needs upgrading.
• Include water systems that are efficient and allow for greywater recycling where feasible.
• All wiring must be child-safe yet accessible, so it can be easily replaced and upgraded.
• Ensure a certain level of acoustic comfort for every unit.

Retrofit financing through SaskEnergy, SaskPower, and the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation will be delivered through a single application portal and one coordinated approval process, so that residents do not have to navigate multiple agencies to access support.

The SaskHomes will be placed around the province to meet demand everywhere. This will not be a major-city expansion only. Rural municipalities, small towns, Indigenous lands and reserves in strict co-development and partnership, as well as the cities, will receive new public rental-unit SaskHomes. This is about building a livable province as a whole, not just the large cities.

The Funding

The immediate capital for the Rapid Rebuild Program and repair grants will come from the General Revenue Fund.

For the long-term housing build, the upfront capital will be generated through bonds. The SaskBond Foundation Edition will be issued as standard Government Obligation (GO) Bonds, backed by future tax revenue and the full faith and credit of the Province. The capital raised through those bonds will be used to construct the first wave of public housing units.

Once occupancy rates and rental revenue performance have been proven stable over time, the revenue from those established units will be securitized into a new SaskBond Housing Edition.

Each SaskBond Housing Edition will be backed in part by net rental revenues remaining after all operational, maintenance, reserve, and debt-service coverage requirements have been fully funded.

Those new SaskBond Housing Editions will then go to fund the next wave of housing units. This process will then be repeated until Saskatchewan has built 100,000 public housing units. Any transfer to the General Revenue Fund will occur only after the housing portfolio is mature, stabilized, and fully reserved.

The junior tranche of these bonds will be purchased by the Saskatchewan Sovereignty Fund, which will absorb any revenue shortfalls before they affect senior bondholders. The senior tranche, sold to residents, pension funds, and institutional investors, will also be backed by the full faith and credit of the Government of Saskatchewan, ensuring bondholders are always paid in full.

For more information, see Policy 17 - Financial Sovereignty and Policy 21 - Funding.

What It Means For You

It means a future for your family.

It means the dignity of your own space.

It means no matter who you are, there is a home in Saskatchewan.

FAQ

• How long does the rent freeze last?
• Five years. After the freeze sunsets, rents can increase annually but are capped at Saskatchewan's annual CPI inflation plus 0.5%.


• Are new builds exempt from the rent freeze?
• Yes, as long as their starting rents are not above the median rent for comparable units in the same municipality.


• What is the winter eviction ban?
• From October 1 to April 30, residential landlords are prohibited from evicting tenants, except in cases of serious health and safety concerns or severe, proven lease violations like property destruction.


• What are "SaskHomes"?
• They are universally designed, modular housing units built to 21st century standards. They can be built on site or in a prefab factory. They are accessible, energy efficient, and connected to geothermal heating by default. Rent in public SaskHomes is set at 35% of the tenant's family income.


• Will the government really build 100,000 homes?
• Yes, over 15 to 20 years. The Saskatchewan Housing Corporation will order 100,000 units to ensure the prefab factory operates at full capacity and the housing crisis is addressed within our lifetimes.


• How are these homes funded?
• Through SaskBonds. The initial capital comes from regular Government Obligation (GO) Bonds, and once rental revenue is proven and stable, it is securitized into SaskBond Housing Editions. The Saskatchewan Sovereignty Fund absorbs any revenue shortfalls.


• Will SGI offer renters insurance?
• Yes. SGI will be instructed to offer optional renters and housing insurance as part of its main operations, keeping it as affordable and accessible as its auto insurance.