Both tenants and landlords agree that the Montreal rental market is no longer affordable for low- and middle-income households, but opinions differ on the measures to be taken to tackle this issue. It is therefore in an attempt to open a dialogue on this housing crisis that is polarizing that the first edition of the event “Montréal, affordable? has taken shape downtown in the past few days.
“Without having any ideological opposition, people are used to working in their corner and we will have to learn to create bridges between these silos”, illustrated Saturday at the To have to one of the curators of this event, François Bellemare. The latter also believes that it would be “completely illusory” to think that we can “find an inclusive approach to affordable housing if we do not include private sector owners” in the dialogue on this topical issue. .
Earlier in the morning, a few dozen people gathered at the Design Center of the University of Quebec in Montreal, downtown, to begin a day of reflection on the Montreal rental market.
This initiative was an opportunity to address two solutions often put forward to tackle the lack of affordable housing in the city, namely that of “personal assistance” and “help Pierre “. The first was defended by the property manager in the residential rental sector, Sophie Boutin, who sat for several years on the board of directors of the Corporation of property owners of Quebec.
“As a taxpayer, it upsets me to see that there are subsidized housing units that could be used by families and that there are empty housing units in the private sector that are not used, due to a lack of resources and government subsidies. . I find that unacceptable,” Ms. Boutin told the To have to aside from his presentation.
According to her, the provincial government should “simplify” and improve its financial assistance programs for tenants – such as rent supplements – so that people with low or middle incomes can occupy vacant rental units in several sectors of the metropolis. However, large dwellings remain rare almost everywhere, in Montreal as in several regions of the province.
Ms. Boutin also said that she herself needed temporary accommodation with her parents in 1999 after leaving her old accommodation, unable to find one that met her means at the time, and above all big enough. to accommodate her and her four children. “And there are plenty of families in this situation,” said the manager, who believes that granting “government checks” to tenants in need would meet their needs more than the construction of new housing. social in the province.
Discord of points of view
Ms. Boutin’s presentation was followed by a tense question period at times, with some participants sharply criticizing the manager’s position, arguing in particular that increased use of rent payment assistance programs could contribute to the phenomenon already underway of price inflation on the rental market. Landlords could be encouraged to increase the rents of their homes more quickly, knowing that they will still find takers thanks to these subsidies, some people said they feared on Saturday.
Thus, the coordinator of the Ville-Marie Housing Committee, Éric Michaud, believes that “personal assistance” should be seen as a temporary solution, while waiting for social and community housing projects aimed at serving tenants to materialize. less well off.
However, this “building block aid” – funding for the construction of social or community housing – comes in dribs and drabs from the provincial government, deplores Mr. Michaud, who also gave a presentation as part of this event. . In an interview, he gave the example of the Montagne verte housing cooperative. Launched in 2006, this 136 housing project for families and single people welcomed its first tenants in the last few weeks. “But 16 years is a long time” to materialize a social housing project, acknowledged Mr. Michaud.
The latter has also been working for several years with other organizations on a project to convert the former Hôpital de la Miséricorde for social purposes, but funds are still lacking, if only to establish a framework clear financial plan for the project, which would allow the construction of more than 200 housing units east of the city center, according to Mr. Michaud. “We have started all the planning work, but if we want to do more elaborate work, it takes money,” he added.
Saturday’s event was the last meeting organized as part of this first edition of the event, which could well take shape again next year in the heart of the metropolis, hopes François Bellemare.