Huron County is still struggling with a shortage of affordable housing.
Manager of Housing and Property Services, Barb Hall, says the county has a number of programs in place to help with housing costs - including 415 housing corporation units which are rent-geared-to-income, as well as a range of rent supplements and housing allowances.
But Hall says in Huron County, as in communities across the country, supply never seems to catch up with demand and they currently have over 230 households on their waiting list for rent geared to income housing.
Hall says they're trying to close the gap between supply and demand with housing allowance and rent supplement programs, but funding for those programs is limited. The challenge for them is in trying to create new affordable units without the ability to physically build or renovate new units.
Hall adds another problem in rural communities is the shortage of apartments at any price. She points out the cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment with utilities often exceeds what's considered a reasonable percentage of household income.
