The mayor of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, will reveal at a press briefing on Monday her Housing strategy for the city which aims to reach a threshold of 20% of non-profit rental housing on its territory. The municipality intends to achieve this in particular “by supporting social, community and non-profit developers in their efforts to acquire existing housing”.
“This ambitious objective [du 20 %]shared by many players in the housing sector, aims to offer affordable housing to the first quintile of the population, i.e. the share of renter households who cannot find acceptable housing on the private market according to the Canadian census. writes Mme Fournier, in the document obtained by The duty.
In the strategy, it is indicated that non-profit rental housing – which includes social, community and collective housing – is defined by the fact that “affordability for its occupant is sustainable over time”. Since this housing is owned by a public or community owner who does not use it with a view to generating a profit, its rent obeys little or no law of supply and demand.
Catherine Fournier explains that her plan stems from reflections made after the first Housing Summit in August 2022, of which her municipality was the co-initiator with Laval. The document demonstrates that one of the indicators of the need for action regarding housing is the vacancy rate. If the latter, in Longueuil, varies depending on the type of unit, the rent and the location of the building in the city, that of the entire rental stock was however at 1% in 2022.
Support existing affordability
In this context, the mayor intends to reach the threshold of 20% of non-profit rental housing in her territory by implementing measures to support the sale of existing affordable housing. Within two years, the plan therefore aims in particular to establish a “mechanism for identifying rental property sales and voluntary declaration of interest in placing it off the market”.
More broadly, the strategy seeks various ways to tackle the current housing crisis, including increasing the supply of housing. To achieve this, its goal is, among other things, to reduce the brakes and obstacles to residential construction. For example, the City is giving itself two years to succeed in “simplifying and harmonizing urban planning regulations to increase the predictability of approval of construction projects.”
Mme Fournier then wishes to act on access to quality housing, for example by promoting the maintenance of rental homes in good condition. In the short term, she particularly wants to “develop a partnership with local organizations in order to better identify sanitation issues” in homes.
The mayor recalls that these measures fall within the framework of the current powers conferred on municipalities. The implementation of the strategy will therefore evolve “according to potential legislative modifications”.
This housing plan is only a first step, underlines Catherine Fournier. It is part of a “long-term mission aimed at restoring and ensuring a recurring, affordable and quality housing supply for all households in Longueuil”.