Housing crisis | Mission: find housing at minimum wage

Imagine: you work for minimum wage in Montreal, and you are looking for an apartment on the island. You follow the recommendations of the Government of Canada and limit your rent budget to 35% of your gross income. What can you afford? Short answer: not much.

Let’s take this scenario: you are a receptionist in a small business located in downtown Montreal. You work 40 hours a week at minimum wage, or $15.25 an hour.

At this rate, your monthly gross income reaches $2623. And according to the recommendations of the Government of Canada, your rent should not exceed $918 per month.

With this sum, you have few options. If you are looking for a four and a half in Montreal, you will have to look at the ends of the island.

On Kijiji and Marketplace, the harvest is thin. In Pointe-aux-Trembles, you will find a renovated four and a half for $850, a price that does not include water or electricity. In Montreal North, you can find an apartment in a cooperative for $715, hot water and electricity included, or a sunny four and a half with two balconies for $850. For $900, you can also become the happy tenant of a half-basement in Longueuil, on boulevard Curé-Poirier.

More central options exist, but they are rare. With luck, you will find a newly renovated apartment close to the Beaubien metro station, for $850 per month, an amount that will usually allow you to rent a single room in a pre-existing shared apartment, or a much smaller apartment.

Outdated logic

Even if you find housing that costs 35% of your gross income, other constraints await you. According to Julie Brissette, budget advisor at the Cooperative Family Economics Association (ACEF) in Montreal East, the budget that respects the federal government’s recommendation “doesn’t make sense”.

First, because the 35% rule is based on gross income.

In addition, for a person living alone, it is “unrealistic” to devote less than 35% of net income to rent, argues the budget adviser. “For this proportion to be realistic, we should not be going through a housing crisis. »

Housing without sacrifices is not an easy task. ACEF clients are often forced to spend up to half of their income on their rent, in addition to making cuts elsewhere, because it’s easier than finding affordable housing, says Julie Brissette.

Two accommodations, tons of visits

Finding affordable housing is no mean feat when you earn minimum wage. The Press took part in the exercise.

On the Marketplace and Kijiji platforms, The Press responded to 47 ads for apartments for rent under $920. Only six advertisers responded with an hour-long visit, and three others responded with a questionnaire.

First visit: Montreal North

We visited a first apartment in Montreal North, a small three and a half in the basement of a building, whose monthly rent of $800 per month includes electricity and hot water.

On the phone, the owner had made sure from the outset that his potential tenant was a single person. “It’s small, I prefer to warn you,” he warned us.

Unlike other advertisers, he offered a same-day visit, without an appointment.

To access the apartment from the city center, one must plan an hour by public transport. The building is located on a residential street parallel to Pie-IX Boulevard, far from the metro lines, but accessible by bus. The Saint-Michel–Montréal-Nord train station is a 15-minute walk away.

Going down to the basement, the owner pointed out that he had renewed the kitchen and the bathroom after the departure of the previous occupant, who had lived there for 17 years.

The visit was short-lived: the apartment has a narrow living room, a modest bathroom and a small bedroom.

A pile of application forms lay on the kitchen counter. “A lot of people” came to visit, said the owner.

The couple of owners live on the second floor of the building. Several couples wanted to rent the apartment, but they refused. “We are the ones who pay for the electricity, and we want to stay quiet,” said the owner.

It was cool in the basement. A trickle of light entered through the windows, which overlook the backyard and its small vegetable garden. “We’re just going to bother you to give you tomatoes,” the owner told us, smiling.

Second visit: Center-South

The second apartment we visited was a bit over our budget, but was in a much better location than our other options. A few minutes walk from the Berri-UQAM and Beaudry stations, this small three and a half in the heart of the Centre-Sud costs $950 per month, internet included.

We arrived, as agreed, at 6 p.m. Three couples were already waiting in line on the sidewalk.

The apartment is small, but in good condition. The kitchen has been renovated, like the bathroom. The floor has been sandblasted and the insulation redone. In the living room bathed in light, the owner explained that the building dated from 1870. “Everything had to be redone”, he sighed.

“I have other condos,” added the owner. He and his spouse also live in the adjacent apartment, a large seven and a half of 250 m^⁠2 that he would like to subdivide.

The apartment includes a small washer and appliances. The owner also offers to leave the few pieces of furniture that are already there.

“There are many, many people who are interested”, he warned us, saying that in one day, no less than 1,300 people wrote to him and about forty came to visit.

The owner explained that initially he was open to renting to a couple of tenants, but the high demand caused him to “clean up”. He therefore chose to favor single people.

After the visit, in front of the building, new faces had joined the line that lined the sidewalk. The next day, the apartment was rented.