The Government of Quebec is cooking up a whole paradigm shift in the area of social housing. Rather than financing the construction of affordable apartments, the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, wishes in the future to finance the purchase of existing buildings whose prices would be sheltered from increases. .
In interview at Duty, she explains that the cost of building social housing has simply become too high. “It costs so much to build! […] I would be much better off buying existing homes that are already built, which will ultimately cost me less out the door than what I’m spending on subsidies for new ones. »
In other words, France-Élaine Duranceau wants to extract apartments from the private market in order to prevent them from “suffering from rent increases”.
However, she warns that there is no question of the government buying and managing these buildings itself. Non-profit organizations would do that. The government would provide effective financial levers allowing them to acquire apartments quickly when opportunities arise.
Bill 31 tabled at the end of the parliamentary session also prepares the ground to make this possible, by giving new financial levers to the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ). But the minister remains vague for the moment on the mechanics of all this.
How many homes can be purchased? From when ? France-Élaine Duranceau is not ready to say it yet, but she is preparing the ground.
According to her, the sale of rental properties to the State or its agents could even be considered a “philanthropic” gesture. “There are owners who tell me that they understand there is a crisis and that they would be ready to contribute by selling to an NPO. »
Foundations are already doing it, she adds, citing the Montreal Investment Fund, the Chagnon Foundation and the McConnell Foundation. “They are already investing in a park like this. Because they want to make an impact investment. Their dollar not only gives a return, but it has a social impact. »
First controversy for the minister
For the Quebec state, this would be a major shift. Since the end of the 1990s, the government has relied largely on the construction of social housing to guarantee affordable apartments for Quebecers.
These projects were funded by the AccèsLogis program and took different forms: social housing for seniors, cooperatives, buildings reserved for certain vulnerable groups such as abused women, etc.
Until February 2022. The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) then sidelined AccèsLogis in favor of the Québec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ), claiming that it would be more flexible than its predecessor.
Remember that before 1994, it was the federal government that was responsible for investing in social housing through the construction of HLMs.
Minister Duranceau is also currently facing a lot of pressure in connection with the housing crisis. On Wednesday, a group of about thirty organizations – from the Conseil du patronat du Québec to Centraide – made a public outing to demand, urgently, “a concerted national approach” in order to get out of the crisis.
The member for Bertrand also had to defend herself for embarrassing remarks made last week during an interview with the Noovo channel. Asked about her desire to abolish assignments of rent, she replied that tenants who absolutely wanted to assign their lease “should invest in real estate and take the risks that go with it”.
On Wednesday, she wanted to make amends during a press scrum at the entrance to the Council of Ministers. “I’m sorry if that seemed insensitive,” she said. “I was in a legal and economic description of things. On the contrary, I am very sensitive to what is happening in terms of housing. »
Not too many worries in view of the 1er July
The Minister was also rather reassuring in view of the 1er July. Despite the housing crisis which persists and which, in some places, is intensifying, the government has taken measures to prevent homeless tenants from ending up on the streets.
Since April, the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) has been increasing communications to let it be known that the municipal housing offices (OMH) were going to have a large number of rental supplement units (PSL) to help to these people.
Formerly called “emergency PSL”, these aids make it possible to offer homeless tenants apartments that are too expensive for them by paying the difference. In an interview on Friday, Minister Duranceau said that there would be “plenty” of PSL to meet the needs. The government has also set up support services for tenants looking for housing, again with OMHs.
With Alexandre Robillard