Annapolis County Housing Association

Everyone deserves a place to call home

About ACHA

Affordable housing is in crisis across the country, from large urban centers to rural Annapolis County in Nova Scotia. Quite simply, isn't enough housing - affordable or otherwise - to make sure that everyone has a safe, clean, and accessible place to call home.

Building any housing is challenging these days, but building affordable housing in rural Nova Scotia is particularly challenging. Costs for supplies and materials keep increasing, there's a shortage of certified tradespeople, and developers need to make some profit in order to keep building. And while there is funding available, developers need to partner with a nonprofit organization in order to qualify for that funding.

That's where the Annapolis County Housing Association (ACHA) comes in. ACHA is a registered nonprofit organization that was formed in response to the growing concerns and need for affordable housing within Annapolis County. As a nonprofit ACHA is able to apply for funding and partner with developers on projects to start building affordable housing.

Since incorporating as a non-profit in 2023, ACHA has accomplished a number of foundational pieces of work to date including:

completing the By Laws and Articles of Agreement,
forming a founding volunteer Board of Directors,
meeting with municipal, regional and provincial partners around land development opportunities
exploring and accessing initial affordable housing funding
formally engaging the community through in-person sessions and online surveys to gather information to better understand the needs of the community
developing a Strategic Plan including the Mission, Vision and Values that will guide the ACHA Board of Directors over the next 3 years

Did you know?

Sources: Nova Scotia’s Provincial Housing Needs Assessment Report, 2022; Canadian Housing Survey, 2022

Many people in Nova Scotia are making tough choices to pay for housing:

57% cut back on fun activities

48% skip buying clothes

43% can’t pay other bills

40% go without enough food

24% can’t afford medicine or healthcare

Across smaller rural communities like Annapolis County about 39% of households find it hard to pay their bills?

Rising Costs:

Home prices soaring
Rent too high
Housing shortage

Affordable Housing Challenges

For Community Groups...

Rural Nova Scotia: It's hard to find a developer

Volunteer Board: It's a big commitment to ask of volunteers

Steep Learning Curve: Multiple grants to apply for and manage, lack of experience

Community Support: Need the communities to support the project and for a ground swell of community support

Fundraising: Under the Land for Housing grant program, ACHA needs to raise significant funds towards the cost of construction

For Builders & Landlords...

High costs of building: The costs for materials, labour and loan interests are higher than ever

Costs increase there's a shortage of skilled tradespeople in rural Nova Scotia so crews need to be brought in from elsewhere

Mortgage Rate Increases means higher operating costs

Can lose money: Landlords can be locked into leases where they lose money over time as other costs increase

Community Engagement

ACHA held its first round of in-person Community Engagement sessions in April 2025 in Nictaux, Wilmot, Kingston, Bridgetown, Lawrencetown and Middleton.

The ACHA Board Members are grateful to everyone that attended these first sessions. Your experience and knowledge of the communities you live in, and your thoughts on affordable housing will help ACHA better understand the needs within Annapolis County.

ACHA is planning to host more Community Engagement sessions to connect with other communities within Annapolis County. Future sessions will be posted here once confirmed.

Not able to attend a Community Session in person? Click the button below to complete the online survey:

HOUSING SURVEY

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