More than 3,500 dwellings in the NWT were inadequate due to physical condition, being too costly or weren't of suitable size for occupants last year, according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics. That makes up 23 per cent of all dwellings in the NWT.
The bureau's "core needs" data comes from its 2024 NWT Community Survey, which measures NWT homes based on three conditions: adequacy 鈥� the physical condition of a dwelling; affordability 鈥� whether bills like water, heat, electricity and insurance cost less than 30 per cent of the household's income; and suitability 鈥� having the right number of bedrooms based on household size and national standards.
If a unit has one of these three problems, plus occupants' income is less than a specific threshold needed to afford homeownership and operating costs without government help, then the GNWT considers the dwelling to be in core need.
The percentage of units in core need ranges widely depending on the community, according to the bureau's findings. For example, Wrigley stands at almost 50 per cent while Dettah, which has the lowest rate in the territory, came in at close to 14 per cent.
The percentage of units in core need has hardly budged in Yellowknife over the past decade, according to the bureau. In 2014, the percentage was 18, now it measures 19 per cent.
"Adequacy was the most prevalent housing problem in the territory," the bureau states. Almost one-fifth of dwellings are in need of major repairs. In comparison, about 13 per cent of households had problems with affordability and almost one-tenth with suitability.
Adequacy-related problems were also consistently higher in smaller communities, the bureau notes, with about one in three households needing major repairs.
"In comparison, adequacy in the regional centres ranged from eight per cent in the Yellowknife area to 36 per cent in Behchoko," it adds.
Core-need issues also affected renters more than homeowners, according to the bureau. Approximately a quarter of renters were in core need, compared to one-fifth of owned households.
The City of Yellowknife has made a number of efforts to boost housing availability, including a new 'Intensification First' strategy that's slated for a presentation to the press soon, according to the city. In addition, a mixed-use 50-unit dwelling is underway in the vacant lot between The Raven pub and the Gold Range Hotel. The contractor is expected to mobilize to the site in May 2025, according to Housing NWT.
