Routine maintenance costs for Chatham-Kent’s 753 municipally owned public housing units have exceeded budget every year for the past three years, according to a new report headed to council.
Council requested the report in April after asking administration to provide a breakdown of repair and maintenance costs for all municipal housing properties over the previous three years.
According to the report, rising expenses are being driven by aging buildings, higher tenant turnover, increased labour and material costs, and more complex tenant needs.
The municipality’s housing portfolio includes 753 public housing units, including 473 adult units, 112 senior units and 168 family units, with an average building age of 45 years. Administration says the aging housing stock, combined with changing tenant needs, has placed increasing pressure on maintenance budgets.
Routine and daily maintenance costs totalled $1.78 million in 2023, $2.17 million in 2024 and $2.32 million in 2025, exceeding the approved budget by $431,561, $737,233 and $732,650 respectively. Routine maintenance includes seasonal inspections, plumbing and electrical repairs, appliance servicing, painting, unit turnover repairs, snow removal and grounds maintenance.
The report says higher turnover volumes, deteriorated unit conditions when tenants move out, rising labour and material costs, increased pest control and garbage collection expenses, and heavier winter maintenance all contributed to the higher spending. It also notes the 2025 fire at 99 McNaughton Avenue resulted in 14 additional unit turnovers that were not directly related to the fire damage itself.
The financial impact of deliberate tenant damage and neglect is also highlighted in the report. These costs totalled $647,623 in 2023, $773,953 in 2024 and $581,783 in 2025. While the municipality attempts to recover repair costs from tenants where permitted under the Residential Tenancies Act, it only recovered $18,898 in 2023, $111,251 in 2024 and $38,570 in 2025.
Emergency repair costs reached $6.6 million in 2025, largely due to the fire at 99 McNaughton Avenue. According to the report, the expenses related to that are being processed through insurance.
