The Government of Quebec has promised to accelerate the construction of affordable housing through a new subsidy program, but a few days before the deadline for submitting projects, many threads still remain to be tied to answer the many questions that he raises.
Exactly 887 dollars. This is the target monthly rent provided by the Quebec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ), unveiled in February, for a subsidized two-bedroom unit throughout the greater Montreal area. However, while construction costs are similar throughout the region, land values vary greatly from one sector to another. But this grid provides for the same target rent this year for housing that will be built in the central districts of Montreal as in Beloeil, and in Beauharnois, in Montérégie as well as in Lavaltrie, in Lanaudière, among others.
” It does not make sense […] The rents must be based on the reality of the place because, otherwise, you jeopardize projects because of that”, explains to the To have to the director general of the Association of Technical Resource Groups of Quebec (AGRTQ), Éric Cimon.
The latter therefore fears that this target rent grid will interfere with the achievement of the Legault government’s target, which aims to stimulate the construction of more than 3,000 affordable housing units in the coming years thanks to the PHAQ, into which $300 million has been injected. until now.
The office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, has also confirmed by email that “adjustments” will be made to this grid “in the coming days”, while refusing to specify the content of those -this. The first call for projects, launched on 1er March, however ends on May 5; a tight deadline, moreover criticized by both the private sector and the community.
“This program was done in a hurry in addition to AccèsLogis to build housing quickly without consulting anyone”, deplores Mr. Cimon, who goes so far as to qualify the PHAQ as an “improvised program”.
Disadvantaged Montreal
The director of the economic department of the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ), Paul Cardinal, notes, on reading the normative framework of the PHAQ, that the cost of purchasing land is “not taken into account”. “It’s the construction costs that we reimburse,” he explains. This situation could explain why target rents reach $1,396 per month for a two-bedroom unit in several municipalities located in remote areas, where construction costs are higher, he says.
However, this logic could harm the construction of affordable rental housing in several areas of Montreal that really need it, he acknowledges. “It will probably be easier to achieve this goal [en ce qui concerne les loyers cibles] if you are in the suburbs further away than in a central district of Montreal,” says Mr. Cardinal.
“It’s a bit absurd. It is an encouragement to go and develop outside of Montreal because the rents will be hard to reach” in the metropolis, deplores the president and CEO of the Angus Development Corporation, Christian Yaccarini. The latter recalls that “development costs” are also higher in Montreal “because we have to occupy the public domain” with “cranes and trailers” to carry out a construction site, which inflates the bill.
It’s an encouragement to go and develop outside of Montreal because rents are going to be hard to reach.
Paul Cardinal believes, however, that this program is necessary, in a context of rapidly rising rents in the metropolis, in order to limit the exodus of less well-off tenants to the suburbs. “It would be even worse if there was no program [de logements abordables] “, he notes.
The general manager of the social economy enterprise Bâtir son quartier, Édith Cyr, for her part, sees favorably the idea of a common target rent throughout the greater Montreal area. “If we say that land is more expensive in Montreal, in the end, people still don’t have more money to rent an apartment [dans la métropole] “, she notes. According to her, it is therefore rather the subsidies granted that should be increased on the island, rather than the target rents.
“Several threads to tie”
However, Mr. Cardinal has not yet heard of any of its members submitting projects under this program. “There are still small things that mean that, in terms of harmonization with the City of Montreal, among others, there is a good reflection and a good calculation to be made with our promoters before launching head first into projects like this. “, he notes.
Several major promoters joined by The duty have also refused to comment on this case. Ditto for the City of Montreal. “For this program to be optimal, things must be clear, predictable and in harmony with other programs,” added Mr. Cardinal.
However, currently, we do not know how this program will harmonize, among other things, with the Regulation for a mixed metropolis of the City of Montreal, raises the president of Prével, Laurence Vincent.
“We wanted to propose an improvement over AccèsLogis [avec le PHAQ]. To date, I don’t see any improvement,” she says in an interview.
In the community sector, we intend to submit projects, but expectations are not high for the future.
“We are going to submit projects, but we are not sure that everything will work”, drops Éric Cimon, who believes that there are still “several threads to tie” before the PHAQ is functional.
“This is a new program, it is currently in high demand, and our goal is still and always to build affordable housing faster by getting everyone to contribute”, for its part assured in writing the minister’s office. Laforest.