Hundreds of people are on the waitlist for social housing in the Yukon, with wait times spanning from months to years, according to the Yukon Housing Corp.

“We recognize that there is a need for more affordable housing, and we’re working on it from a couple different angles,” Sarah Murray, a spokesperson for the Housing Corp., told the Star this morning.

The corporation’s waitlist for social housing had 361 households as of Oct. 13, according to documentation tabled in the legislature late last month.

Of those 361 households on the waitlist, 144 are seniors; 295 are in Whitehorse and 66 are in the communities.

Kim Sharp, the acting director of client relations, told the Star that this waitlist length is typical for the corporation.

It has lengthened in the last two years due to increased outreach to vulnerable populations.

“That added to the waitlist, because we’re catching a group that was underrepresented prior to having those additional supports,” Sharp said.

The Yukon government has 800 housing units territory-wide.

Units become available for people on the waitlist according to tenant turnaround –– which is hard to forecast, Sharp explained.

Tenants usually stay in social housing for at least six months, while some people raise their families in social housing and stay for a decade or longer.

“We never know who the next applicant is going to be and when there will be a unit available,” Sharp said.

That means people who sign up for the waitlist generally have no idea how long they will be waiting for housing.

“It’s really hard to say – it changes every day as people move out of housing, but it is based on client severity of need.”

People aren’t housed from the waitlist on a first-come-first-served basis.

Those with combined vulnerabilities are prioritized, including victims of violence, people who are homeless or people in the communities with a critical need to relocate to Whitehorse.

Those who are prioritized at the top of the waitlist may still see a wait of several months, Sharp said. The wait for low-priority applicants could span years.

“Some folks – and the senior waitlist is a good example – people are living in their own home, they’re not quite ready to move on but they are anticipating a future need,” Sharp said.

“Until they experience some other combined factor, they will remain on the waitlist.”

Seniors comprise about 40 per cent of the waitlist. Sharp said this is due, in part, to the Yukon’s senior population increasing 72 per cent in the last decade.

“I think what drives that is there isn’t really anything in the interim, with the housing costs of a condo, seniors age out of their home and don’t want to maintain it or can’t afford to maintain it,” Sharp said.

“Our housing is more constrained and more modest than most seniors are prepared for, really, so there’s a gap in the housing continuum we are hoping the private sector might help us fill.”

The housing corporation has purpose-built seniors multiplexes in Whitehorse, but options for seniors in the communities are more constrained.

“We have a lot of seniors in non-seniors housing,” Sharp said.

“It doesn’t really matter to them; they just want a home; if you’re on the top of the list you’re having a need, so you’re just grateful.”

A seniors housing development is currently being constructed by private developers in Takhini. Sharp said that should relieve some of the pressure on the seniors waitlist for affordable housing.

Other people on the low-priority waitlist are often housed inadequately in the interim.

“It could be that it’s too expensive or not large enough for their family size or needs repair,” Sharp said.

“We can hopefully point people who are in housing need to different options or opportunities.”

There is a lack of housing stock in the Yukon contributing to the shortage of affordable units.

The Yukon government’s housing initiative plans, which fund private market development, are intended to spur rental development.

Murray said that 350 units have been built in the last three years through those funding programs.

A 47-unit building is under construction at Fourth Avenue and Jeckell Street and will be owned by the corporation, as well as a Challenge Disability Resource Group Cornerstone Housing project on Main Street.

Murray said the corporation is working to bring more units to the market, as well as revamp the social housing program system.

“Generally, we are working on transforming the way our social housing program works, which is to take some recommendations from the Putting People First report,” Murray said.

“The idea of doing better in housing affordability so we can be flexible and have a resilient program.”