Access to housing will be at the heart of Québec solidaire’s election campaign this fall, which notably promises the creation of 50,000 social housing units as well as a register of leases.
Posted at 3:05 p.m.
With the imminent arrival of the 1er July, waiting times for low-rent housing (HLM) remain particularly long in Quebec.
Soufia Khmarou has been waiting for social housing for three years. “I have three children, including a daughter with a disability. I live in substandard housing,” said Ms.me Khmarou, along with the spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Manon Massé, and the solidarity deputy for Laurier-Dorion, Andrés Fontecilla, during a press briefing on Monday in front of a construction site of condos under construction in Montreal.
Despite her meticulous research, the mother and childcare worker cannot find affordable housing that meets her family’s needs. “I don’t think I’m leaving Montreal, because the hospitals where my daughter receives care are close,” she added.
The latter has no choice but to continue living in her unsanitary home with her children.
A register of leases on the agenda
Québec solidaire (QS) criticizes the CAQ government for showing inaction in terms of accessibility to housing.
“Social housing is one of the dimensions that we offer to QS, but it is sure that it does not solve everything, conceded Manon Massé. We agree that it requires money from Quebec. »
“The little Quebec-Canada chicanery must stop,” she added, referring to the disagreement between Quebec and Ottawa concerning the parameters of a funding program for 6,000 social housing units in Montreal, the future of which remains in danger.
Manon Massé also said that there is a shortage of 37,000 social housing units in the province to meet demand. “You can’t just rely on the private market to provide people with affordable rents,” she said.
The party also wants to establish a national register of leases to allow tenants to determine whether the rent increase imposed by their landlord is abusive.
“If a landlord increases the rent to a rate higher than that suggested by the Administrative Housing Tribunal, he will be obliged to justify this increase,” explained the head of housing for Quebec solidaire, Andrés Fontecilla. We want to reverse the burden of proof. »
At present, when a tenant wishes to fix the price of the rent, it is he – and not the landlord – who must submit a request for modification of the lease to the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL).
Airbnb in the crosshairs of QS
The Airbnb online housing rental service is also in QS’s line of sight. The platform would increase the pressure on the rental market in Montreal by removing housing from the supply available to tenants, according to Andrés Fontecilla. The party estimates the number of homes under Airbnb’s sway at between 7,000 to 12,000.
” [La location sur Airbnb] is done to the detriment of Montreal families,” insists Mr. Fontecilla.
According to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the national vacancy rate in 2021 is at 3.1%. More specifically, the vacancy rate reached 3% in Montreal, 2.5% in Quebec City and 1.1% in Gatineau.
According to the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ), there is a shortage of approximately 100,000 housing units in the province.