Social and community housing units for seniors are empty across the province because their managers are unable to obtain the insurance they need to operate them legally, learned The duty. Faced with this impasse, organizations in several regions of Quebec are urging the Legault government to act.
The residence for seniors with a slight loss of autonomy in Le Havre Paulois, made up of 20 social and affordable housing units, had been awaited for several years in the municipality of Saint-Paul, in Lanaudière. Since its opening on July 1, four units of this residence remain empty because the managers of the non-profit building, funded by the Government of Quebec via AccèsLogis, have still not managed to obtain essential insurance coverage. in order to obtain seniors’ residence certification from the health network. And this, despite repeated attempts with multiple insurance companies.
“What we see in the market is that seniors’ residences have had challenges during the pandemic because of what has happened to nurses, to workers. There have been lawsuits, so insurers are very reluctant to insure new residences, ”explains to the To have to insurance broker Nina Baiiche.
The tenants who had signed a lease prior to the opening of the two-storey building in Saint-Paul are therefore currently accommodated in this residence in an “illegal” manner, since it is not yet certified, sums up to To have to the collective management facilitator of Habeo, the technical resource group of the Lanaudière region, Laurie Brault. “Right now, we are out of the ordinary. Point”, adds his colleague Josianne Hébert, project manager for the same organization specializing in the development of social housing.
“It means that we have a sword of Damocles over our heads because if something happens, we are the ones responsible”, illustrates Réjean Saint-Yves, a member of the board of directors. of the building, that The duty visited on Wednesday. In an interview, he says he found himself faced with a heartbreaking choice on June 30, when he and the other members of the management team had to decide whether or not to welcome the 17 elderly tenants who had already signed a lease in the building. building, in this particular context.
“The Board took a very brave decision by allowing residents to come here anyway, but normally we should have called them [les locataires] and tell them to find a relocation,” says Ms.me Brault, who is worried about the future. “How long will they [le réseau de la santé, qui gère les certifications des RPA] allow us to have people here? We don’t know, ”she adds, while raising the possibility that this residence – new – will have to close its doors altogether. ” It’s possible. »
In the meantime, the board of directors will have to decide soon if it decides to allow new residents to move into this building, despite the risk involved, indicates Mr. Saint-Yves. “To praise them [les logements vides], that wouldn’t be a big deal. But the question we are going to ask ourselves is: are we going to sign other leases as long as we are not certified? »
Everywhere in Quebec
The case of this residence is far from trivial. In several regions of the province, social housing for seniors that recently opened their doors find themselves empty because their managers are unable to obtain the insurance coverage that these establishments need, confirms the director general of the Association of groups Technical Resources of Quebec (AGRTQ), Éric Cimon.
“The new projects are brand new, they meet all the standards; I do not understand why there would not be rapid interventions to unblock the insurers, ”says Mr. Cimon, who urges the Legault government to act in this file.
In Abitibi-Témiscamingue, a residence with 16 social housing units for seniors is currently largely empty for the same reason, notes the main project manager of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Ungava Technical Resource Group, Martin Briault. “We’ve been running for almost a year, asking all the insurance companies”, in vain, he laments. All at a time when the region has been “in housing crisis” for years. “It’s nothing to understand. »
Joined by The dutythe Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) claims to be “well aware of the difficulties encountered by certain [résidences privées pour aînés (RPA)] with a social purpose when obtaining a permit in connection with the holding of the required insurance”. A program was also put in place last year to help them “deal with the increase in insurance premiums observed,” indicates the MSSS.
“As for RPAs who have difficulty finding insurers, possible solutions are being explored with the Insurance Bureau of Canada and insurance companies,” it adds. However, for this purpose, “my concern is the speed of the response” which will come to settle this file, notes Éric Cimon. “It is becoming urgent to find a solution. »