Believing that the Accès Logis program needed a “boost”, Quebec launched its new “Quebec Affordable Housing Program” on Thursday, with a budget of $200 million, which should accelerate the construction of new affordable housing, according to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest.
“The limits of the Accès Logis program, we see them and we note them. Needs have evolved over the years and the rental market has tightened. It therefore takes a new model adapted to the field, “said the minister during a virtual press conference. According to Andrée Laforest, the new program represents a “revolution” in the world of housing.
The Quebec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ) will not replace Accès Logis, but it will complement it. As of March 1, a first call for projects will be launched and, as of next summer, the first housing units will come out of the ground, promised the Minister. Quebec estimates at 2,000 the number of dwellings that could be started within a year. Andrée Laforest also maintained that if the realization of the projects could take four years with Accès Logis, the delays could be limited to approximately one year with the new PHAQ.
Affordable for at least 15 years
The program, which is intended for housing cooperatives, NPOs, private businesses and housing offices, also provides for a modulation of subsidies based on the expected duration of housing affordability. “This number of years must be at least 15 years. The longer the commitment, the more attractive the amount of the subsidy will be,” explained Minister Laforest.
Housing prices will vary from area to area and will be determined based on the median rent price in each area. For example, a 4 ½ in Saguenay built under the PHAQ will be offered at around $665 per month, instead of $720 per month. For subsequent years, the fixing indices of the Tribunal administratif du logement will apply.
Will the PHAQ do away with the Accès Logis program created in 1997? “We are not there today,” said the minister. “We need to speed up the process and speed up construction. We had requests from municipalities telling us that it was long with Accès Logis. The housing offices also told us. She assured that the projects already undertaken within the framework of Accès Logis would be carried out.
The Fédération québécoise des municipalités welcomed the Minister’s announcement and the government’s desire to ensure that budgets are distributed in the regions according to their needs and particularities.
The Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU), however, was more skeptical of the virtues of the new program. The organization sees this as a privatization of housing assistance and is concerned about the possible disappearance of the Accès Logis program. “It would be unacceptable for a program that has proven itself over the past 25 years to adequately meet a variety of needs to be replaced by another whose clearly stated objective is to support the construction of housing projects by the private sector,” said Véronique Laflamme, FRAPRU spokesperson, in a press release.
The organization also doubts that the principle of affordability is assured and fears that private promoters may renege on their commitments after five years without having to repay the subsidies they have received.
The F clause
Asked about clause F of the leases, which allows owners of new buildings to raise rents as they see fit, Minister Laforest specified that it could not apply in the case of projects built under the PHAQ. However, she said that in order to better protect tenants, the government had undertaken work to revise this clause introduced in 1980. “I am very open to looking for a change, as soon as possible, but you will understand that there are several ministries involved,” she said.
In recent weeks, several media have reported cases of rent increases of several hundred dollars per month imposed by landlords on tenants, who cannot contest them if the landlord has checked clause F to indicate that the dwelling is in a building built less than five years ago.