Moving can be expensive. A survey commissioned by the organization Vivre en ville indicates that Montreal tenants who moved in the last year have seen an average rent increase of $259 per month, or 24%.
It is therefore not surprising to note that a large majority of tenants preferred not to change their address this year. “The situation is extremely precarious,” says Adam Mongrain, Housing Director at Vivre en ville. This result is much higher than the 8% increase in housing costs observed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) last February since this figure corresponded to tenants who remained in their homes.
At the request of Vivre en ville, the Léger firm surveyed 5,551 tenants in Quebec between May 8 and 31, including 1,476 in Montreal. This is the second exercise of its kind since in 2023, the organization asked tenants the same questions when it launched its rent register.
This allows Vivre en ville to observe how the situation evolves between 2023 and 2024. The organization, which unveiled the Montreal portion of the survey on Wednesday, notes in particular that a growing number of Montreal tenants have experienced an episode of homelessness, having found themselves without a fixed address at some point during the last year. “In 2023, when we saw that 10% of tenant households had reported having experienced homelessness, it seemed completely absurd to us. A year later, we are at 15%. This is a deterioration of the situation, a huge source of concern,” emphasizes Mr. Mongrain.
The number of units with rents between $500 and $749 has seen a significant decline between 2023 and 2024, falling from 25% to 18% of all units, while the share of units with rents above $1,250 has increased from 21 to 28% of units.
Clause G
Tenants are increasingly less confident about being able to access homeownership. Only 18% of Montreal tenants believe they will be able to afford to become homeowners within five years, which is a five-point decline from 2023.
The state of the housing stock surprised Adam Mongrain since only 4% of the tenants surveyed indicated that their housing was in very poor condition while 85% of the housing was judged to be in good condition or fairly good condition, according to the survey. “There are cases that capture our attention, but in general, our residential stock is of adequate quality,” notes Mr. Mongrain.
Many tenants still do not know the price paid by the previous tenant. One in five tenants say that clause G of their lease – indicating the rent paid in the last twelve months – was fulfilled by the landlord.
Rent register requested
Vivre en ville has been advocating for years for Quebec to set up a universal and mandatory rent register. Last year, in the absence of a positive response from Quebec, it created its own rent register, which now has nearly 100,000 registrations. Vivre en ville created a similar register in Ontario. Although this register is considered reliable, according to Adam Mongrain, it cannot be used as evidence before the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL).
The City of Montreal, which contributed financially to the rental registry set up by Vivre en ville, supports the organization’s demands and is also asking the Quebec government to create a national registry. “In this crisis situation, one of the most structuring measures that could be put in place by the Quebec government is a universal registry,” says Robert Beaudry, who is responsible for the homelessness file on the executive committee.
One of the good news items from the survey, according to Adam Mongrain, is that more and more Montrealers are defending their rights before the TAL. Eleven per cent have already done so for a rent-setting decision. But Mr. Mongrain admits that this system is not perfect since protesting tenants will be “listed” in the TAL for eternity, which is likely to cause them harm when looking for new housing in the future, even if the court rules in their favour. “It is an emerging demand from tenant associations to anonymise files,” he says, although such a measure would have the effect of unduly protecting repeat delinquent tenants. To remedy this, he suggests a public tenant insurance system.