"Rentals with serious problems around July 1st are just the tip of the iceberg and are the most visible factor in the consequences of the housing crisis. Not too much. "
Over 100 Montreal households are traditional in Quebec Moving days come and go on Fridays, victims of rapidly rising prices in the city's rental market.
Outside the city, things got worse as smaller municipalities reported unprecedented shortages of housing stock. Montreal has a vacancy rate of 3.7%, which is higher than the 3% considered manageable, while cities like Longueuil report vacancy rates of 1.2%. In Sainte-Thérèse and Blainville, the rate is 0.3% and in Telbonne it is 0.1%.
Throughout Quebec, housing groups estimate that more than 750 households were unable to find accommodation because they ran out of debt on Friday. It is estimated that the number of real people who cannot find a safe home is much higher.
"These renters, who are in serious trouble around July 1, are just the tip of the iceberg and are the most eye-catching consequences of the housing crisis that is hitting Quebec renters. It's an element that looks like, "said the housing rights group Front d'action populaire en réaménagementurbain (FRAPRU).
Montreal has high vacancy rates, but rents are very high. That's what Lafram said. Last year, more than 400 households in the city needed urgent help. Montreal has witnessed a building boom, but she said most of the available units are too expensive for the majority of lessors.
Aside from Montreal, vacancy rates in small cities such as Granby, Trois Rivieres, Sherbrooke and Rimouski plummeted for a variety of reasons, according to a spokesperson for the Quebec Housing Commission and the Union of Tenant Associations (RCLALQ). Mann Cédric Dussault said. .. Residents of metropolitan areas have moved in search of cheaper housing, especially during pandemics. Real estate speculators looking for more affordable deals did the same, buying real estate and raising rent. Tourism has led owners to rent properties at higher prices on short-term sites like Airbnb. Companies operating in the region are also renting real estate to accommodate workers in places such as the North Shore and Abitibitemis Camingue.
"We are seeing cities where accommodation is still affordable, with speculators coming to places like Saguenay, Alma, Trois Rivieres and Rimouski. It's being abused. Rent increases and tenant evictions, "Dassault said.
In Montreal,A recent surveyshows that average apartment rents are now just below $ 1,200 per month, up 30% over the year 2019-2020. doing. Of the ability that many pay. For more affordable apartments under $ 925 per month, vacancy rates are less than 2% in Montreal and less than 1% in the surrounding area of the city.
In late May, the Quebec government spent $ 76 million onrent supplements,allowing people to stay home, andabout 2,200 households {54. } Announced to support. Equivalent to 25 percent of the recipient's income.
This initiative has grown rapidly over three years, but is often an invisible problem as hidden homeless people find temporary accommodation in friends and family homes. Not enough to meet your needs. Or at a motel or campsite, Dassault said.
"Notable in this crisis is that it spread rapidly throughout Quebec and became endemic," he said. He said small cities without the resources, money and experience that cities like Montreal have were particularly hit.
Dussault states that the Coalition Avenir Québec government has promised to build 15,000 public housing during the last campaign to catch up with previous government commitments. To date, he said, only 500 units have been completed. FRAPRU and the Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, have also held the footsteps of the state and federal governments responsible for withholding the necessary funds. City officials said this week that they demanded $ 265 million over the next five years to fund an unprocessed housing project, but received only $ 30 million.
Quebec must invest in social housing, set up a public rent register and implement rent management to solve the state's housing shortage. The housing group said.
However, Dussault said it was unlikely to happen in the current government, which showed little openness to the proposal.
Traditionally, he said, the Minister of Housing would meet with their organization at least once a year to discuss the issue. There have been no meetings since CAQ was elected in 2018, he said.
rbruemmer@postmedia.com
-
Allison Hanes: Rent supplements the welcomed Band-Aid for the housing crisis
-
Montreal opponents are at a standstill A division of Postmedia Network Inc that blames the city for social housing projects
Sign up to receive daily headline news from Montreal Gazette. By clicking the
Thank you for registering.
A welcome email has been sent. If you don't see it, check your junk folder.
The next issue of Montreal GazetteHeadlineNews will soon arrive in your inbox.
