Social housing

I attended an all-candidates forum in Lethbridge, Alberta recently. Lethbridge is having a by-election due to the unfortunate death of a councillor elect shortly after being elected. Our community is having a by-election in early February to fill this vacancy. At a recent forum in Lethbridge organized by the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA), a whole slew of issues were debated.  One of those issues was social housing. Like many communities, affordable housing is an important issue here. One candidate made an interesting suggestion. He is involved with the Lethbridge Housing Authority. He mentioned that subsidies are available for private individuals who choose to rent affordable units to others in their own home. Rather than spend on expensive social housing units, this sounds like an innovative way forward. Are other communities doing this? I’m not sure. Any input?