Hastings County has seen a “significant” cost hike for renovations to social service housing in the past year.
A total of 159 units were renovated in 2020 due to tenants moving out.
Director of Facilities and Capital Infrastructure Jim Duffin reported to Hastings County Council recently that there were several factors contributing to these additional costs, and they are expected to continue in future years.
The most significant factor is the age of the housing units. Most were built over 40 years ago and the interior components such as floors, cupboards and bathroom fixtures are simply worn out.
Duffin tells Quinte News, “Usually our tenants, you know, they turn over just like any rental housing units. We have tenants move out and tenants move in. So we go in and do the renovations and bring the unit back up to acceptable standards.”
“It’s had a certain amount of wear and tear when somebody’s in there, so, we have to paint the walls and look at any damage that may have been done and also that’s the opportune time when it’s vacant to do extensive repairs like replacing kitchens and bathrooms.”
Duffin told Quinte News, he doesn’t anticipate the cost of materials getting any less expensive.
“I say the buildings are getting older so every time we get a new vacant unit, then we have this repair work to do.”
The County added an extra $500,000 to the department’s budget to handle the increased costs.
