Like Ensemble Montréal, business people and real estate developers are calling for the suspension of the regulation for a mixed metropolis because of its mixed results. But the Plante administration rejects this option, believing that it would be a step backwards that would harm the construction of social and affordable housing.
The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM) describes the repercussions of the regulation, also known as 20-20-20, on the construction of social housing as “microscopic”. In two years, only one social housing project of 86 units has been approved by the City of Montreal. However, this made it possible to conclude agreements which should lead to the construction of 660 social housing units and 158 affordable rental housing units.
“This is a real statement of failure,” indicates the CCMM in a notice submitted to the City. “The Regulation for a mixed metropolis has not resolved the shortage of social and affordable housing. Worse still, we believe that this regulation has contributed to weakening residential development and has, in turn, worsened the housing shortage in the region. »
Isabelle Melançon, CEO of the Urban Development Institute of Quebec (IDU), which brings together real estate developers, agrees, arguing that in its current form, the regulation is a “brake” on construction. real estate. “The results are not positive. […] Where we really have a concern is that in the current situation where lending conditions are complicated and where interest rates are excessively high, building costs 30% more than two years ago,” underlines -she.
Mme Melançon believes that the administration must put its regulations on hold given the current crisis.
The opposition at city hall also believes that the administration should impose a moratorium on its regulation which is not producing the expected results. “We wonder why the Projet Montréal administration is so stubborn about heading into a wall with its public housing policies when they are obviously no longer adapted to the reality of the current market,” says the Ensemble Montréal advisor Julien Hénault-Ratelle, opposition spokesperson on housing.
Adjustments to come
However, such a moratorium is not envisaged by the administration of Valérie Plante. On the contrary, the City intends to make changes to its by-law. The planned changes will be submitted to the municipal council at the next meeting on November 20 and will come into force in January 2024. The City intends in particular to review the definitions of social and affordable housing in order to better adapt to the context linked to the disappearance of the program. AccèsLogis Québec. Due to the increase in the cost of land, it also intends to increase the compensation offered to developers when land is transferred for the creation of a social or affordable housing project. Likewise, it will increase the amount of contributions requested from developers who prefer not to include social or affordable housing in their projects.
Despite the criticism, the head of housing on the executive committee, Benoit Dorais, judges that with its regulations, the City is on the “right track”. “If we want to abolish it, I fundamentally believe that we would be making a mistake. We would go back. We would come back to the fact that we must negotiate zoning changes one by one. We would come back with an inclusion strategy. And that’s not going to accelerate anything,” he explained Friday while the City’s Housing Department took stock of the regulation before the Commission on Economic and Urban Development. “Promoters ask us for predictability and flexibility. »
Mayor Valérie Plante believes that the City must take action from a long-term perspective. “Ensuring that we provide affordable housing and social housing in all construction projects is a necessity. If we had done it before, we would not be in the current situation. And I am doing it for the future generations of Montrealers who cannot even find housing,” she underlined on Friday, alongside an announcement concerning the purchase of 720 affordable housing units by the Mainbourg Corporation with the financial contribution of Quebec and Montreal.