Moncton ACORN Demands Healthy Affordable Homes at City Hall!

NB ACORN members and supporters came out in droves in front of and IN City Hall to launch our Healthy Affordable Homes campaign! Members protested outside the building to DEMAND the city council force landlords to provide safe and clean living arrangements. And inside, Moncton ACORN leaders spoke with city council to make sure the apartments in the new Vision Lands project be affordable for people in core housing need. People running for city council endorsed our platform and want to fight for tenants rights in Moncton! The current councilors got to hear our members give a voice to the voiceless and demand affordable housing for all.

Our demands are simple:

1.LANDLORD LICENSING:

ACORN calls on the City to develop a program that:

• Modernizes Standards: Consult with the province to review and expand the Residential Property Maintenance and Occupancy Code, ensuring it covers modern health and maintenance issues faced by tenants today.
• Proactive Enforcement: Implements regular, proactive building inspections to ensure compliance with the new bylaw, without requiring a tenant to file a complaint.
• Increase Transparency: Directly addresses the lack of awareness and utilization by providing clear tenant and landlord outreach and education.
• Ensure Accountability: Requires landlords to submit mandatory building maintenance plans and utilizes the existing powers in Bylaw Z-507—such as financial penalties and city-led repairs—to force compliance.
• Dedicated Funding: Funds these improvements through nominal annual registration fees based on the number of units.

2.AFFORDABLE VISION LANDS:

ACORN will support the Vision Lands project with:

• Income-Targeted Definitions: The definition of “affordable housing” used by the City specifically ensures affordability for low-wage workers and people on fixed incomes, defined as housing costs that do not exceed 30% of gross household income for those in core housing need.
• 20% Minimum Mandate: At least 20% of all new units are dedicated to being deeply affordable for these priority groups.

The City heard us LOUD and CLEAR, and now know Moncton ACORN is here to stay!