Emergency accommodation for households who find themselves homeless cost the City of Montreal almost twice as much in 2023, compared to the same period in 2022.
“For the year 2023, the sum of 1.7 million provided for in the initial 2023-2025 agreement will be insufficient to cover accommodation costs until the end of the year. The Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) therefore estimates that temporary accommodation expenses will amount to nearly 2.95 million for the year,” indicate the documents presented Tuesday to the municipal council.
For the entire current year, the OMHM forecasts that 395 households will have needed emergency accommodation, compared to 297 in 2022. As of October 30, 37 households were still in emergency accommodation, including nine since the moving period, between June 29 and July 10.
Among the elements that contribute to increasing costs, municipal documents mention the average unit cost of rooms which has increased by 37%, a greater number of nights of accommodation for each household compared to last year, an increase by 42% (average of 77 nights in 2022) and greater vulnerability of customers, which has particular repercussions on reimbursements for damage done to rooms.
The municipal council therefore authorized an additional expenditure of 1.25 million for additional costs incurred for temporary accommodation, without any discussion between elected officials.
Since the start of the year, households have been taken care of by the OMHM due to disasters, such as fires or floods (148 households), evacuations due to unsanitary conditions and unsafe buildings (21), or even after having had to leave a home due to repossession, non-renewal or evictions (110).