Eleven boroughs of Montreal are preparing to adopt zoning regulations this fall to prevent residences for the elderly (RPA) from being converted to other more lucrative uses, learned The Press.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
Between January 2021 and March 2022, the Quebec Regrouping of Seniors Residences already estimated that 150 of these establishments had closed their doors and that the number was expected to increase even further.
The battle of the residents of Mont-Carmel, especially before the courts, is widely publicized, but their fate is also that of thousands of other seniors.
Le Sud-Ouest, Lachine, Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Verdun, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Ville-Marie should be the first boroughs to adopt a bylaw that will prohibit as of this fall, conversions of RPAs into other types of housing.
The boroughs of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension and Ahuntsic-Cartierville should follow in the coming months.
Already, a freeze has been decreed to avoid any conversion of residences for the elderly in the boroughs in question.
“Protecting Affordability”
“We were all shocked to see seniors threatened with being deprived of health services in their place of residence,” said Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal.
Even though seniors’ residences fall under the Quebec government, it was essential for our administration to develop new tools to protect the living environments of seniors.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
Responsible for urban planning within the executive committee of Montreal, Robert Beaudry indicates in an interview that the goal is “to avoid conversions for profit”, and this, through a zoning by-law that will protect all building where health care is provided.
“This new regulation supports the other initiatives taken by our administration to protect the rental stock and protect its affordability for the entire population. »
Mr. Beaudry ensures that the regulations to come in the boroughs will hold water legally and that they are similar to what has already been done to protect rooming houses.
Economic conditions
If the City hopes to curb the conversion of RPA, it remains that the phenomenon is not only linked to the desire of promoters to make more profits.
The labor shortage, the increase in expenses related to health care services, the significant increase in insurance costs and, recently, inflation are adding pressure that is difficult to bear for many homeowners, in Montreal as elsewhere in the province.
About 18% of Quebecers over the age of 75 live in an RPA, according to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.