It is an arid search for housing that awaits asylum seekers in Montreal, where affordable rents are becoming scarce. While waiting for their work permit, many depend on monthly benefits that turn out to be lower than rental market rents. A situation that pushes them towards housing that is often too expensive, too small or overcrowded.
Last May, Deyci Maria fled Mexico by plane and requested asylum in Canada for her and her son. Threats from her ex-husband make her fear for their safety. At the beginning of June, the duo moved in with another refugee mother and her two children in a 4 and a half in the basement of a building in the borough of Saint-Laurent.
Without a work permit, the refugee can only count on her monthly social assistance benefit of $996. Benefits for asylum seekers are assessed according to the same annual indexations as those for other social assistance recipients. The hearing of M.me Maria to regularize her status is scheduled for March 2023. Cohabitation with another family allows her to reduce her expenses, paying only $500 out of a total rent of $1,280.
Welfare benefits are insufficient for housing in Montreal, an analysis of Kijiji ads by The duty. For a 4 and a half in Montreal, the average rent is $1,425, a much higher amount than the $996 benefit that Deyci Maria receives for her and her son.
For an asylum seeker, only the boroughs of Anjou, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Montreal-North can afford a studio with the individual benefit of $783 — the amount of a typical profile which can vary from one household to another. Housing prices in these neighborhoods, which range from $690 to $770, however, absorb almost all of the benefit.
The rent-to-benefit gap narrows when it comes to a couple, but sharply intensifies for families, setting the stage for housing overcrowding. “We observe on the ground many families who come together to obtain acceptable housing,” confirms Maryse Poisson, director of the Collectif Bienvenue, a support organization for asylum seekers. “When you look at what they have left after paying the rent, for food, clothing, bringing the children to school, it’s not even the poverty line. »
Between 2016 and 2021, housing prices rose faster than social assistance benefits paid to asylum seekers. This difference is particularly felt for households with children.
Research under pressure
Asylum seekers, like Deyci Maria, also face discrimination in their search for housing. Several owners have asked her for proof of income or a credit history, which she does not have due to her status. Others simply refused the presence of a child. “It was very difficult,” she admits. There were requirements that could not be met. Language was another barrier, as Ms.me Maria speaks neither French nor English.
Also without a work permit, Josefina arrived in Canada last April with her two children to join her husband. The family of four has just moved into a 3 and a half in the borough of Saint-Laurent, where the mattress for the children is next to the kitchen. To pay the rent of $1,100, the family has a monthly benefit of approximately $1,300. With this benefit, it was impossible for him to assume the average rent for a 5 and a half in Montreal, which amounts to $1,823 on average, according to the analysis of the To have to.
For Josefina, the search for a new home has been fraught with obstacles similar to those encountered by Mrs.me Maria: “The owners asked for proof of social assistance. Mine arrived late, and we almost lost our current accommodation. Fortunately, the refugees in her shelter helped each other during their search, she says.
Asylum seekers can stay for two to three weeks in the accommodation centers of the Regional Program for the Reception and Integration of Asylum Seekers (PRAIDA). “As soon as you get the first social assistance check, it’s a matter of days before you have to leave the center,” says Maryse Poisson. It’s extremely stressful in the midst of a housing crisis. Deyci Maria had to ask for an extension of stay. Accommodation centers can grant an extension of up to seven days.
According to Maryline Mercier, housing worker at the Maison d’Haïti, landlords are taking advantage of the urgency created by this deadline. She notes the tendency among some to ask refugees two to three months’ rent in advance. “They know you’re really in need, that you don’t have a credit history, no letter of employment. So they abuse it. »
Waiting for a job
The housing affordability issue is compounded by processing times for the Asylum Seeker Document (DDA), commonly referred to as the “brown paper,” provided to each asylum seeker to validate their refugee status and confirm their access. to Canadian health insurance. Without this document, it is impossible to apply for a work permit. “Usually, you got it at the border when you passed Roxham road or at the airport, explains Maxime Poingt, immigration counselor at the Carrefour d’aide aux newcomers (CANA). It’s been like that since the borders reopened in January. From now on, asylum seekers often have to wait six to eight months to obtain this “brown paper”, then their work permit, notes Mme Fish.
These delays mean that they have to depend longer on a social assistance benefit that is insufficient to cover their rents. For Josefina, the situation is a source of concern and frustration. “I was an independent person in Mexico; I worked as a nurse. I don’t want to be on welfare. »
Since the reopening of the borders in January 2022, asylum applications have been increasing in number in the country. “There are three to four times more requests from the Welcome Collective for furniture and essential items,” says Maryse Poisson. The organization is continually seeking donations from the public. According to her, the high rents leave no financial room for maneuver for the refugees. “Our standards for offering help are getting higher and higher. Priority is given to vulnerable families, single mothers. At the moment, we no longer deliver furniture to single people,” she admits.
With Laurianne Croteau and Zacharie Goudreault