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Social housing and rent help in Nova Scotia: how to apply

How to apply for subsidized housing and rent assistance in Nova Scotia, who runs the waiting lists and what to bring, from the official pages.

Subsidized housing and rent assistance

Public housing: get the form from your local Housing Authority office and meet income, residency and core need guidelines; seniors' public housing needs you or your spouse to be at least 58; rent is based on income. The Canada-Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit (rent supplement) is applied for online or on paper, free, renewed every year, and review takes about 2 to 3 months; you cannot get it while living in public housing, but you can get it while on the public housing waiting list. Toll-free 1-833-424-7711.

Official page ↗

Waiting lists are long almost everywhere: apply to several providers and keep your application up to date. Rent in subsidized units is usually set between 25% and 30% of household income. Income and asset limits change and are mostly not listed. Some programs end or convert to new benefits: confirm on the official page. For urgent housing loss, call 211 or your local shelter line. Rules, fees and programs change and were read on 2026-11-14: confirm with the official source. General information, not legal advice. Quebec follows its own rules: see atlasquebec.ca.

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