Yellowknife (Jan 19/05) - The president of the NWT Housing Corporation says reports that public housing units are being sold off while their availability dwindles have been blown out of proportion.

Fred Koe said only 14 low-income public housing units across the territory -- including two in Yellowknife -- have been sold over the last two years. He said all of them were either unoccupied or sold to the occupants residing in them.

"The story has been that we've been kicking people out to sell the houses from under their feet," said Koe.

That's simply not the case he insisted.

"We're selling the older, less efficient units, and replacing them with more efficient multiplex units," he said.

"Any money we make from the sales are going back to the housing authorities so they can continue to manage and maintain the new stock."

Koe said selling off older homes has been a long standing government policy.

He conceded there is a need for public housing in Yellowknife and across the territories, but said the corporation is doing its best to meet demand.

The housing corporation oversees 568 homes in Yellowknife -- 296 of them through the Yellowknife Housing Authority. The vacancy rate is about six per cent.

While Koe said there are about 75 to 80 people on Yellowknife waiting lists for public housing even though some homes are currently empty, not all are suitable for the clients' needs.

"The majority of those are one-parent or single people," said Koe.

"We don't have a big stock of units for those types of clients, but that number has been reduced as new building opens here in Yellowknife."

The housing corporation hasn't built any new homes in Yellowknife over the last two years. Koe said it is planning to a 12-unit multiplex this year, adding it has leased dozens more in recent years from private developers.

For those public housing units that are sold, Koe said the first priority goes to clients already in the system.

He said programs like Expanded Downpayment Assistance and Independent Housing are available to help clients purchase the homes.

Great Slave MLA Bill Braden, who last week questioned the rationale for selling the homes, said he has since been briefed and no longer has a problem with the practise.

Nonetheless, he said the initial controversy could've been avoided had Koe been quicker to answer questions.

"If either Fred (Koe) or the minister (David Krutko) had said something when this thing first came up, they might've been able to manage it a bit better," said Braden.