For municipalities, it has almost become a reflex: to say they are victims of the housing crisis and to beg for more money from Quebec. But they would also benefit from cleaning up their yards, according to Isabelle Melançon, CEO of the Urban Development Institute (IDU), which represents the real estate industry.
Cities often shoot themselves in the foot with their cumbersome and confusing regulations. “I want to be constructive, so I’m going to set a good example. The Quebec mayor’s plan [Bruno Marchand] brings several interesting solutions,” she wishes to qualify. Although she criticizes the proposal to tax vacant land, she welcomes the regulatory relief. Developers will notably have more flexibility to add housing, build higher or provide parking.
According to Mme Melançon, other mayors would benefit from imitating Quebec and going even further.
I ask him to talk about Montreal. “It’s painful,” she admits. There are 19 districts which each have their own constraints. For a developer who has two projects, it is as if he was operating in two countries. Standards may vary for densification, cladding, facade or heritage. And not all civil servants work at the same speed or with the same method.
Sometimes the logic is difficult to understand. “In the city center, a developer wanted to build high. Its neighbors are Place Ville Marie, 47 floors, and another 36-story building. But he is capped at 22 floors. For what ? Where is the consistency ? », asks Mme Melançon.
And to this are added the delays. She gives the example of a project that did not require a zoning change. The Montreal official told him that he would have to wait more than two years to receive his permit. “However, construction starts have decreased by 50%. The number of files should be manageable,” she recalls.
In Ontario, Premier Doug Ford found a draconian solution: beyond a certain deadline, cities must compensate the developer. Since then, as if by magic, they have accelerated the files.
Everybody wins. Because the longer a project drags on, the more the costs increase and the more its financing is threatened. This lack of construction perpetuates the shortage, and inflates prices for buyers and tenants.
The industry also deplores the multiplication of fees demanded by cities. There are some for water, parks or public transport projects. “In Brossard, around the REM, this translates into a total tax of $33,000 per unit. And in Saint-Laurent, it goes up to $38,000. »
Either the developer gives up or passes the bill on to the buyer.
I submit to Mme Let us believe that these projects gain value thanks to public investments paid for by everyone, and that it is therefore normal for the private sector to contribute. The problem, she replies, is the accumulation of obstacles to construction. “Mortgage rates are already increasing, lenders are becoming more cautious, there is a labor shortage and the price of materials is climbing. This means that projects are threatened with not seeing the light of day. And often, it is the smaller players who suffer, which reduces competition. »
If municipalities impose these fees, it is because they are unwillingly dependent on property taxes and are struggling to pay for their ever-increasing responsibilities.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Among other suggestions, Isabelle Melançon wants Quebec to imitate Ottawa and offer a sales tax holiday for new rental constructions.
Without entering into the complex debate on municipal taxation, Mme Melançon puts forward two concrete suggestions for Quebec to help quickly.
First, she wants ways to counter the “not in my backyard” phenomenon. A small group of mobilized citizens can block projects. We even saw so-called progressives win a referendum against a social housing project in Montreal, under the pretext that it was three floors too high.
Then, Mme Melançon would like Quebec to imitate the federal government by offering a sales tax holiday for new rental constructions. “We forget it, but there was already such an exemption here. The problem is that it hasn’t been updated. The unit must cost less than $225,000. In today’s market, that no longer holds up. »
She is particularly worried about Gatineau. “Ontario quickly reacted by imitating the federal tax holiday. Put yourself in the shoes of a promoter. He will go to Ottawa or Gatineau, in your opinion? »
Given the urgency of the crisis, the IDU made a joint outing in June with Centraide, as well as representatives of owners, builders and the social and community sector. They requested a meeting with the Prime Minister. “Housing is linked to a multitude of ministries such as Finance, of course, but also Health, Economic Development and Employment,” she recalls. So we wanted to talk to the head of government to get an overview. »
And what happened?
“Nothing… We didn’t even get an acknowledgment of receipt. »