The City of Montreal ready to house households urgently for July 1

A few days away from a new 1^er July in the midst of the housing crisis, some thirty units have been reserved by the City of Montreal to accommodate households in need.

These housing units range from one to three bedrooms which have been reserved through the emergency rent supplement program.

“We expect to have between 30 and 40 households that will require accommodation needs in the last week of June,” said Vincent Brossard, director of demand management, affordable housing and rent supplements at the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM).

Since the beginning of the year, 314 households have already contacted the organization for a housing need. At this time, 61 households have been supported by the OMHM and seven have been accommodated in hotels.

“Our tenants are suffocating,” said Pierre Lessard-Blais, mayor of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Considered an affordable borough, Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve would be less and less so, according to its mayor. “Just last year, 101 households were helped as part of the operations of the 1^er July,” he said.

A difficult cycle to break

“We are seeing on the ground an aggravation of the vulnerability of households and also of the accommodation needs which are greater and the duration of accommodation which are longer”, raised Mr. Brossard.

Acknowledging that requests for assistance have exploded in recent years, the head of housing on the City’s executive committee recalled that Montreal could not break this cycle on its own.

“Unfortunately, there are more and more people who are not eligible under the government criteria for the emergency rent supplement program,” noted Benoit Dorais.

“There is no one who decides not to be able to pay their rent anymore, to be evicted. However, these households are no longer eligible for the Société d’habitation du Québec program. [SHQ]“, he illustrated.

The City therefore voted unanimously on Monday for a motion to ask Quebec and the SHQ to review these eligibility criteria.

Until then, Mr. Dorais ensures that the City is ready to help households for the 1^er July. Any Montreal household facing a housing problem can contact 311 for assistance.