Family Selection

In Nunavut, 49% of dwellings were below housing standards—they were either inadequate and/or crowded. Crowded dwellings, at 35%, were more prevalent than inadequate dwellings, at 23%.
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Family Selection

How it Works

Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership model empowers families to invest in homeownership. Through volunteer labour, efficient management and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of partner families.

Habitat homes are sold to partner families with no down payment required and are financed with affordable, no-interest mortgages. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments are set to a maximum of 30% of their gross income and mortgage payments go into a revolving fund, which is used by affiliates to build more homes for more families in need.

Who Qualifies for a Home?

There are three criteria a family must meet to qualify for a Habitat home:

In need of affordable housing

  • The family income must be below the government-set low income cut-off (poverty line) for their particular region and their existing living conditions must be inadequate in terms of structure, cost, safety or size.

Able to repay a Habitat mortgage

  • The family must have a stable income sufficient to cover the monthly Habitat mortgage payments and as well as other expenses that come with homeownership.

Willingness to partner with Habitat

  • Homeowners must demonstrate a willingness to partner with Habitat for Humanity by contributing 500 hours of volunteer labour ("sweat equity") towards the building of their home.

Prospective homeowners can find out how to apply for a Habitat Home by visiting our Apply page.

Why do we need Habitat housing in Nunavut?

  • The Government of Nunavut currently owns over 4000 public housing units
  • The annual cost to the government for building, operating and maintain these homes exceeds $100 million and represents 12% of its annual budget.
  • This financial burden will escalate in future years as the $56 million provided annually to the Government of Nunavut by the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation declines, reaching zero by 2037.

Families in Iqaluit and the surrounding areas are already experiencing the impact of limited access to adequate housing and this is where HFHIQ hopes to make a difference by providing them with an affordable alternative to home ownership. Our bold new strategic plan intends to build 10 new homes in Nunavut by 2020.