New Brunswick·NewThe auditor general found public housing units sat vacant, awaiting inspection, for over four months on average — but N.B. Housing says that isn’t an accurate picture.Auditor general found public housing units sat vacant for over 4 months on averageSavannah Awde · CBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2025 4:13 PM EDT | Last Updated: 16 minutes agoFrançois Boutot, CEO of the New Brunswick Housing Corporation, says the state of public housing is not as bleak as a recent auditor general report suggests. (Silas Brown/CBC News)The New Brunswick Housing Corporation says a report that found it’s taking too long to inspect vacant public housing space and release it for occupancy is not accurate — but it doesn’t have evidence to support that claim.That’s because the data the province’s auditor general used to make that finding was not being regularly updated, CEO François Boutot told members of a legislative committee Tuesday. The auditor general report said N.B. Housing was meeting its vacancy target — to have units inspected and ready for re-occupancy within 30 days after a tenant leaves — just four per cent of the time. On average, Auditor General Paul Martin said, units sat vacant for 140 days. Some vacant units took over a year to inspect. With 13,129 households on the wait list for units during the review period of April 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2024, Martin called the finding “frustrating.”WATCH | CEO says N.B. Housing Corporation filling more vacant public housing units: AG report on public housing vacancies used poor data, corporation CEO says CEO François Boutot said he’s actively working to improve how the N.B. Housing Corporation collects data, but was unable to provide specific numbers showing a different picture than the auditor general’s. But on Tuesday, Boutot said the reality on the ground is different. Speaking with reporters at the legislature, he said the 140-day average for a vacancy inspection is not the true number.”We don’t use our system very well. We do now — we didn’t use to, to make sure we enter the data on a timely basis,” he said.Boutot made similar comments about the auditor general’s finding that N.B. Housing wasn’t meeting its targets for timely repairs. “If a renovation needed 24 hours, and our staff go to the site, and all of a sudden it needs 72 hours because of supply or whatever issue, we didn’t — we do now, we didn’t usually — go back into the system and update the timeline for the renovation,” he said.The Crown corporation that handles public housing in New Brunswick is under pressure to have units inspected quickly after tenants move out so that any needed repairs can be done in short order. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)Martin said his office stands behind the findings of the report, in a statement released after the committee meeting. “At the time of our audit, the New Brunswick Housing Corporation did not have adequate systems and practices in place to ensure properties are well-maintained, safe and habitable for tenants on a timely basis,” the statement said.No alternate data providedDuring the committee meeting, Progressive Conservative MLA Rob Weir called on N.B. Housing to take accountability.”This needs to be cleaned up,” he said. “There needs to be accountability in this… You can’t be happy with empty units. None of us are.” While Boutot said the report figures were not accurate, he told reporters he did not have regional data or other evidence to show that units are indeed being inspected and maintained in a timely way.”In the next few months… we’ll be able to pull data that demonstrates differently, because we’re now putting the accurate data in the system,” he said. “I can confirm, by going across the province, that our units are getting renovated. And anybody in the communities can see that we’re [putting] a tremendous effort into renovating those.”The auditor general report said the office “interviewed HNB staff, reviewed documentation and visited several of the regions” before coming to its conclusions.New Brunswick auditor general Paul Martin reported recently that the Crown corporation wasn’t meeting its 30-day target to inspect vacant public housing units. (Ed Hunter/CBC)The CEO said he’s confident that the numbers are better than what the auditor general reported because, for one thing, the vacancy rate for public units fell by two percentage points over the past two years.”In spring 2023, the vacancy rate was closer to six per cent in our units. With all the changes that we’ve implemented… currently our vacancy rate is around four per cent,” he said. “The lower that number is, the faster we renovate them, the faster we put tenants in them.”MLA hearing from people desperate for housingProgressive Conservative MLA Ian Lee said his riding office has been on the “front lines” of the growing demand for public housing.”You have single moms with children coming in, in tears looking for a place,” Lee said. “You have elderly people looking for a place. I had a couple that actually lived in their car for a couple of weeks until they found a place.”Progressive Conservative MLA Rob Weir said during a committee meeting at the legislature that the N.B. Housing Corporation’s inspection processes need to be ‘cleaned up,’ adding: ‘You can’t be happy with empty units. None of us are.’ (Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick)When asked by Lee, Boutot said he didn’t have information about what each region is currently doing to monitor the completion of inspections. The CEO said spring 2026 is still the target implementation date for a centralized system to track whether inspections are being done, and how long they’re taking. 30-day target to fill units under reviewMeanwhile, the Crown corporation is reviewing its 30-day target for having vacant units inspected.”Vacancy repair policies will be updated, and reasonable [key performance indicators] will be established,” it said in a response to the auditor general’s report. Thirty days, I think most of us could say that could be reasonable… Going over 30 days becomes unreasonable.— Memramcook–Tantramar MLA Megan MittonBoutot said the current target doesn’t make sense in some cases, but did not say whether the corporation’s review is aimed at shortening or lengthening that time period. He did give as an example: “If we have a major flooding in a unit, it might take more than 30 days.” Green Party MLA Megan Mitton believes some units might need more time for major renovations — but said others could be ready for new tenants even faster.”I think the key is actually meeting that 30 days, and ensuring that that happens. Thirty days, I think most of us could say that could be reasonable… Going over 30 days becomes unreasonable,” she said.”We need to make sure we’re moving people into housing as soon as possible.”ABOUT THE AUTHORSavannah Awde is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick. You can contact her with story ideas at savannah.awde@cbc.ca.
N.B. Housing says turnover of public units not as slow as report suggests, but can’t prove it
