There are too many strings attached to an aboriginal affordable housing program, according to some Fredericton-area First Nations residents already living in overcrowded reserves and struggling to find a place to live.

It's disappointing that the program can't help those already living on overcrowded reserves, said Candice Paul, chief of the St. Mary's First Nation.

"I think it's quite strict," Paul said. "They have to reside off the reserve for six months, so if we have people in overcrowding situations right now they wouldn't be able to apply."

Morgan Brooks of the St. Mary's First Nation is six months pregnant with twins and living with six members of her family on the Fredericton-area reserve.

The living arrangements aren't ideal, Brooks said, and she and her boyfriend would like to get into a home of their own.

Brooks said the couple initially wanted to move into a home on the reserve but found it was full and that there was a waiting list of 200 people looking for housing. So instead they turned to the affordable housing program.

The off-reserve aboriginal home ownership program, launched in October 2007, is funded by the federal and provincial governments.

Ottawa has contributed $6.7 million to the program while the New Brunswick provided $5.5 million of the funds that are meant to subsidize mortgages. To qualify, applicants must prove that their household income is below $50,000, that they have aboriginal ancestry and are a first-time home buyer with good credit.

For Brooks the most troubling clause was that applicants must be living off-reserve for at least six months before applying.

Many don't qualify

There are 50 mortgages available in New Brunswick through the program, but so far about 80 per cent of the applicants don't qualify, said Gary Gould, general manager of Skigin-Elnoog Housing Corp., which is handling the applications.

"We are finding that the total debt ratio is becoming a problem," Gould said.

Many of the applicants exceed the debt ratio that is needed to qualify for the program, he said, and the non-profit group is having to take on the role of credit counsellor in many cases.

So far, only one mortgage has been approved since the group began collecting applications in January, Gould said.

Lorie Leon, a single mother of three, has also just applied for the housing program and is finding the application process a challenge.

"It's difficult to meet it and buy a house off-reserve and live. It's supposed to be off-reserve so we can live like other Canadians in normal housing and I don't know how that's going to work and I don't know if I've been approved," Leon said.

There are deficiencies with the program, agreed Eugene McGinley, minister of state for seniors and housing. But it will improve the quality of life of some of those living off-reserve, McGinley said.

"It's a means to an end. Will it solve all the problems? I wish it would. I want to repeat our objective is to improve the circumstances of people who are on restricted incomes who are living off reserves," he said.