Housing Affordability in Quebec | Our future in mind, outside the established framework

For decades, to respond to housing-related problems, we have been calling for more funding from the governments of Quebec and Ottawa for the construction of social housing or even the implementation of new regulations to protect the rights of tenants.

Obviously, these two demands are an integral part of the solution to ensure housing affordability in Quebec, but that is no longer enough. It is a major steering wheel that must be given to act on the available offer, and this, in almost all market categories, whose domino effect we tend to underestimate. Remember that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) estimates the minimum number of additional dwellings required by 2030 at 620,000 to ensure a certain level of affordability in Quebec.

Ten years ago, the median price of a house in Quebec was $229,000, according to data compiled by the Fédération des chambres immobilières du Québec (FCIQ). Today, that has almost doubled to $450,000 — or even more in certain regions such as the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM), of which our two cities are part.

Many homeowners now realize that they would not be able to buy their own home if it were on the market today. Many parents worry and wonder if their children will ever be able to become owners.

The situation is even less rosy on the rental market. According to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), in 2021, the vacancy rate in the Longueuil agglomeration was barely 1.2%, and the situation was not much better in Laval, with a meager 2.2%. Moreover, again in our country, the average cost of rent for two-bedroom units available for rent was $1,351 and $1,328 respectively, compared to $975 and $944 for units already occupied: a difference of nearly 40%! The situation is similar everywhere in Quebec. No region is spared.

As if that weren’t enough, with the renovation phenomenon, we are losing affordable apartments everywhere much faster than we are building them. Elderly and low-income people are thus driven out of their living environment, with fewer and fewer alternative options. This is without taking into account the lack of space available for large families, while the residential construction market has for several years favored small dwellings, deemed to be more profitable.

Let’s say it frankly: the situation has become unsustainable on all fronts. However, housing is a basic need, and the environment in which we live directly influences our health and well-being. Let’s not wait for Quebec to become Ontario or British Columbia.

If yesterday’s methods are no longer sufficient, we will need as many people as possible to come up with the best ideas — and fast! Everyone must push the wheel: the cities, the government of Quebec, the federal government, the institutional and university circles, the actors of the private sector and those of civil society. This is exactly why we have decided to join forces with the objective of organizing the Housing Summit 2022, the very first pan-Quebec event of this nature, which will be held on August 26. Our generation and those to come are particularly affected by the housing affordability crisis. It is finally time to put our future in mind.

However, thinking outside the box is often easier said than done. Here is what some of these innovations could look like, ideas that will be explored at the Summit:

• the construction or addition of dwellings in single-family housing sectors (soft densification);
• the removal of buildings and land from speculation by giving them a perpetual vocation of general interest (the social utility trust);
• the development of collective real estate projects accessible at a price lower than the market value (shared capitalization);
• the non-profit acquisition of buildings requiring renovations with a view to improvement (the preservation of the affordable rental stock);
• building a public inventory of housing to stimulate supply and preserve long-term affordability (public housing development corporations).

While we are convinced that the 2022 Housing Summit, organized jointly by our two cities, will provide the necessary impetus for taking action in a concerted and innovative manner, it is certainly not an end in itself. We invite you to continue thinking about solutions in the months to come, in order to contribute to ensuring that every Quebecer can benefit from an affordable place to call home.