A local organization that provides affordable home ownership for families has its eyes on Trail.
Habitat for Humanity Southeast BC told council this week that it’s hoping to develop a memorandum of understanding with the city.
“We’re looking for a partnership and opportunity to build in Trail,” said executive director John Campbell. “We haven’t been in Trail before, which is unfortunate, but we’d like to come here. We’d like to put a Habitat home or homes somewhere in the city.”
The local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, which serves the entire Kootenay-Boundary, works with low-to-moderate income families who need better living conditions and are first-time home buyers. Those who qualify are expected to provide 500 volunteer hours, which can come in a variety of ways, including helping build the home where they are going to live, working in one of Habitat’s ReStores, or for another non-profit organization. The local chapter also requires qualifying families to have at least one child under 16.
Families end up owning their homes and holding mortgages, but under the Habitat model, to reduce their financial burden, they don’t have to provide down payments. Mortgage payments are also capped at 25 per cent of their monthly income. When a family outgrows their home or otherwise moves, Habitat has the first option to buy it back for use by another family.
Habitat completed a four-plex in Castlegar in 2023 and is now building a duplex in Cranbrook. In both cases the land was donated by the city. Campbell said they are hoping Trail might provide land as well. He said the organization has “some pretty robust funding strategies and partnerships already in place,” including with the Columbia Basin Trust. Negotiations are also ongoing nationally with the Build Canada Homes fund and Campbell said they are close to an agreement with BC Housing.
Campbell said they would like to sign a memorandum of understanding with the City of Trail about collaborating. If the city can suggest possible build sites, the organization will check them out. At a minimum, the organization wants enough land to build a duplex.
The city is already working on a land inventory. Council made no decisions but mayor Colleen Jones indicated they will work with city staff on a potential partnership.
