Tenants at the Ocean Breeze Village must move out by the end of March next year, when 143 units will be torn down to make way for more dense housing on the land.

Celine Porcheron, president of the Ocean Breeze Residents’ Association, said it’s impossible to stop the owners, Basin Heights, from going forward with the project.

“What I need, and what a lot of us want, is for us to be seen and heard,” said Porcheron.

The owners have offered to pay some people if they confirm by June 30th that they will leave, according to a memo sent to residents. If they agree to leave any time before March 31, 2026, they will get a payment of three months’ rent and a one-time payment of $3,500.

“This financial assistance greatly exceeds the requirements of the Residential Tenancies Act,” the memo said.

Porcheron said rent in the community is much lower than the average market price in Halifax, and finding a new place to live in a housing crisis will be hard. She estimates the average cost of an apartment at Ocean Breeze Village is about $1000.

In Halifax, average rent is $2,062 for a 0ne-bedroom apartment and $2,558 for a two-bedroom, according to the April rent report from Rentals.ca & Urbanation.

The owners have said they might create some affordable housing, but only if they get funding.

By tearing down the 143 apartments as part of this phase, the owners estimate they’ll put up 343 units on the same land. If they get funding, they may make up to 10 per cent of those new units affordable, the memo said.

“Our ability to fulfill this goal relies on support from Nova Scotia’s Affordable Housing Development Program,” the property manager wrote, adding that they are looking for other subsidy programs, including some from the federal government.

According to the memo, they project to have a total of 5,160 units on the property by the time the whole project is done.

Porcheron said he’s also unhappy with the owners because some people already relocated from one part of the property to another while their apartments were demolished as part of the initial phase of the project. Now, just six months after some of them moved, they have to find another place, she said.

She also criticized the province for not helping the residents.

Colton LeBlanc, Minister of Growth and Development, said the province has reached out to talk to the owners about which subsidy programs are available.

“It’s up to them if they want to take part of within those programs,” he said.

He also said the province is making positive moves to ease the housing crisis.

Many people in the neighbourhood don’t know what they’re going to do, said Porcheron, because they feel like their deadline is soon and the move out date is so far away. The move out date is also before the end of the school year, she said.

“They’re telling me that they have no no options,” she said.