Current statistics on the housing situation, already worrying, underestimate reality, argues FRAPRU, which believes that the situation will get even worse.
The Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment published Tuesday its 8e “Black file” dealing with housing and poverty in Quebec, based in particular on statistics from the 2021 census.
During the 2021 census, there were 173,000 tenant households in Quebec with “core housing needs”.
However, these 2021 statistics took into account household income temporarily inflated by COVID benefits, underlines the organization. This is what makes him say that the problems of housing accessibility are underestimated.
FRAPRU notes, for example, that it would be necessary to add itinerant people, i.e. “at least 10,000” recorded during the last count in October 2022.
Its spokesperson Véronique Laflamme points out that the rate of unoccupied housing in Quebec is only 1.7%, “the lowest percentage in almost 20 years”. And 28 urban centers in Quebec have a vacancy rate of less than 1%.
The housing shortage has been accompanied by an increase in rents. FRAPRU notes an increase from $844 to $952 across Quebec. And the available housing is more expensive, at $1,272 in the Montreal metropolitan area, $1,312 in the Quebec region and $1,450 in Gatineau.
We therefore see households spending more than 80% of their income on housing expenses.
“For these people who spend more than 80% (of their income on housing), the slightest unforeseen event, the fridge breaking, a separation, can unfortunately lead to the loss of housing, to the street,” concluded Ms.me The flame.
The elderly, single people, young people aged 15 to 24 and women are the categories most affected by the current crisis, notes the organization.
If FRAPRU thinks that the situation will get even worse, it is in particular because of “the speed at which rents are increasing”, which does not correspond to the speed at which household incomes are increasing. Certainly, the minimum wage has jumped, which has helped support low-income households, but it is not enough.
Then, she reports that “the needs are immense” and that governments are slow to implement their strategies and programs. However, “homelessness costs more than social housing,” says Ms. Laflamme.
She deplores that Quebec is passing the buck to the municipalities and that the federal government supports the construction of housing that is too expensive, far from affordable.
“One thing is certain: it can’t take years anymore. Because indeed, we see the dramatic consequences; you see them every day. This has to stop. Emergency shelters are good, but that’s not permanent housing,” concluded M.me The flame.
FRAPRU announces a tour of the regions of Quebec and a visibility campaign to put pressure on the authorities so that they act on housing.