The housing situation is critical and Quebec must rise up and act decisively now to tackle the crisis.
“We hear the kettle whistling,” reads the 65-page report produced at the end of the Agir ensemble pour le logement event, which was held on May 15 under the aegis of Centraide of Greater Montreal. .
The organization’s president and CEO, Claude Pinard, didn’t mince words in his introduction, saying that “governments will need to introduce robust programs to support people throughout the year – not just as they approach July 1 or winter. These programs already exist in part, but they will have to be improved, extended and revised in order to compensate for the current lack of social and affordable housing. »
“The Government of Quebec must respond and assume its responsibilities in terms of social housing,” insists Mr. Pinard.
Rarer and less accessible
The diagnosis has been clear for years, but the most recent data show, for example, that in 2022, a two-bedroom unit that becomes available has increased by 88% on the South Shore of Montreal, by 66% in Laval and by 35% on the island of Montreal compared to a dwelling already occupied. Not only more and more rare, housing is less and less accessible.
Participants in the May meeting came from all walks of life; political, community, private, foundations and citizens. They have offered multiple solutions to solve problems that simply can no longer be ignored.
Take care of the existing building
As a first step, they called for investments and support for these investments in maintaining the existing rental stock. In the case of 94,000 HLM units in Montreal, no less than 41% of the buildings are “in very poor condition” and 31% are “in poor condition” after years of neglect. On the private side, a good part of the accommodation is dilapidated or unsanitary.
Participants initially believe that clearer data collection on the condition of buildings and units is essential. Then, they demand in particular binding legislation obliging owners to renovate their obsolete or unsanitary units, penalties for demolition in order to encourage renovation and more resources for organizations such as cooperatives which do not have the means to finance Works.
We also suggest withdrawing more housing from the speculative market, creating renovation cooperatives, promoting group purchases for the benefit of owners and managers and supporting owner-occupiers.
Supporting the offer smarter
To develop a new offer, while construction is slowing down despite the shortage, we are asking to review the framework for land transfers, a relaxation of the rules surrounding heritage buildings for conversion into social and affordable housing, better exercise of the right of first refusal for cities to protect land and buildings from real estate speculation or regulations to preserve the affordability of new projects.
Participants also submitted the idea of exempting NPOs from municipal taxes, like religious communities, or at the very least reducing them by 50% and increasing the funding of existing programs such as AccèsLogis and add new ones such as the granting of 25% of permanent capital to a project or to facilitate the conversion of small unoccupied buildings.
Better protect rights
Participants in a workshop on tenants’ rights and their access to justice insisted on the entrenchment of the right to housing in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They vigorously denounced the tolerance of unsanitary housing, landlords who demand payment of three or six months’ rent at the signing of the lease, unjustified evictions and discrimination against newcomers and Aboriginals.
Several recommendations are aimed at the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL), in particular the acceleration of procedures in cases of non-heating, unsanitary or other cases, the hiring by the TAL of social workers to support vulnerable tenants, reducing delays in general, allow class actions, control rents on a mandatory basis.
We are also calling for a moratorium on evictions and repossessions and a ban on Airbnb and other short-term tourist rentals in rental accommodation.
Finally, the book of recommendations calls for better community support, not only for organizations working in the field of housing, but also through access to local services and through campaigns to increase social acceptability and combat prejudice by promoting coeducation.
There is no doubt, according to the participants, that the time for observations is over and that the time for tough interventions and firm political will has long since arrived. Quebec’s response to the housing crisis has proven to be late, according to many, and it will be necessary to see if the Legault government will have understood the message beyond the July 1 emergency.