In the Tantallon area of suburban Halifax, the wildfires of May and June in 2023 destroyed 200 buildings and 151 homes, and caused a massive evacuation for 16,000 people.
Renee Hynes and her four children lost their home, everything in it and two acres of trees surrounding her property.
"It is still ongoing, we are still displaced and we are still not home," said Hynes, who added the experience has been traumatic, and financially devastating. "We have dipped into our savings and have used everything."
According to Hynes, the insurance companies have been positive to deal with, but there is still not enough money to pay for all of the work.
"We also had to come up with almost $60,000, that wasn鈥檛 paid by insurance, just to get the fire debris off of our lot," Hynes said.
Now, Hynes has learned that her new rebuilt home and property will come with an increased assessed value, which means a property tax increase.
"From what I understand, our property tax is going to double or triple over 10 years alone," Hynes said. "We will be spending almost twice as much as much as our neighbours, who thankfully did not lose their home."
The wildfires of May and June in 2023 destroyed 200 buildings and 151 homes. (Renee Hynes)
The Halifax Regional Municipality implemented a tax break this year for families impacted by the wildfires. Financial planner John Maisey said that would help people like Hynes a little, but not enough.
"Property taxes are growing at almost twice the rate of inflation," Maisey said, and added he is concerned people will be forced to extend their mortgages longer. "Because the one constant that doesn't change is the amount of money that comes through the door each month. You鈥檝e got to make adjustments, and the one way to do that is to extend the runway on the debt."
In an email statement, the Nova Scotia Property Valuation Services Corporation said, "PVSC does not have the legislative authority to create property tax policy, set property tax rates, collect property taxes, or provide property tax relief. Those important roles are fulfilled by Nova Scotia's provincial and municipal governments."
Hynes simply wishes she could have her old home back.
"We never asked for a new home and we never asked to have these expenses and we never certainly asked to have our property taxes, double and triple," Hynes said. "I am worried about this financially and I don鈥檛 know where these funds are going to be coming from."
Hynes said it also taking a long time to return to an overall sense of normalcy. After living in temporary rental housing, she will not move into her new rebuilt home until December, which would be almost a year and a half after the wildfires.
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