The Plante administration considers an 875-square-foot condo in the Griffintown neighborhood that sold for $568,896 to be “affordable,” our Bureau of Inquiries found.
• Also read: Affordable housing: Montreal (very) far off the mark
• Also read: Valérie Plante says she’s proud of her housing record
• Also read: Quebec is also lagging behind in social housing
It is the most expensive property among some 13,000 social and affordable housing units that Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has built since taking office in 2017.
Photo Dominique Cambron-Goulet
The Charlotte Project in Griffintown.
The home, located in the Charlotte Project in Griffintown, makes this list because the family who bought it in 2021 received a $15,000 grant from the City of Montreal.
Screenshot TVA News
Veronique Laflamme
FRAPRU
“This is another scandalous example of allegedly affordable housing that is unaffordable for the average Montreal household, let alone renter households with an average income below $40,000,” plage Véronique Laflamme, door spokeswoman for the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment ( FRAPRU), an organization that defends the right to housing.
According to calculations by mortgage broker Ratehub, a household wanting to afford this property today must be making at least $112,020 per year. In 2021, an income of $98,330 was required.
Landlords in Ontario
” The program [de subvention] helps Montreal renters access home ownership and encourages young families to stay in Montreal […] and supports families who want to settle in the city center,” defends the city’s spokesman, Guillaume Rivest.
But in this case, the owners are an Ontario couple who own two other condos in downtown Montreal and two single-family homes in Val-Morin in the Laurentians. Their buildings have a combined value of nearly $2 million.
The family’s phone-on mother realizes her $568,000 condo isn’t within everyone’s reach.
“It’s not affordable at all. We invested all our savings to buy it. It’s an effort [à payer]. If we had known mortgage rates were going to go up, we wouldn’t have bought it,” she says.
luxury property
As of Thursday, the apartment was even listed for rent for $2,650 a month ($2,900 with parking). A practice banned by the city (see other text).
The real estate agency Engel & Völkers, which specializes in “luxury” and “prestige” real estate, took care of the letting.
Realtor Melanie Ouaknine was very surprised to learn that the city considered this apartment “affordable”.
“Oh good?” she blurted out in surprise.
Photo from the Centris website
A rooftop swimming pool is available to the owners.
The building in which the property is located includes a rooftop swimming pool, a gym and a courtyard with mini golf.
The city does not take into account the parking garage costs in the subsidy. She therefore believes that the apartment was purchased for $517,157.
However, it could have cost as much as $610,000 and still be considered “affordable” (see below).
– With Philippe Langlois
►According to the Association professionnelle des courtiers immobiliers du Quebec, the median price of a new two-bedroom condo in 2021 was $466,778.
UP TO $610,000
The city awards grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 for the purchase of new homes at specified prices*.
- $15,000 for a family buying downtown for less than $610,000
- $10,000 for a family buying for less than $540,000
- $5,000 for a pair buying for less than $380,000
- $5,000 for a single person purchasing for less than $305,000
- Singles and couples must be first-time owners. Families who have a child aged 13 or younger may already be owners.
*Price without parking
Photo from the Centris website
The 875 square foot unit features two bedrooms and an open plan area.
HOW MUCH DOES SUCH ACCOMMODATION COST?
- Mortgage : $2619/month *
- council taxes: $460/month
($5518 in 2023) - school taxes: $63.75/month
($765 in 2023) - Condominium Fees: about $350/ Month
In total: $3492.75/month
- Transfer Fees (Welcome Tax): $5838 payable upon purchase
*Calculated at a rate of 4.89% with a 20% deposit
More and more expensive
The Plante administration has raised the maximum prices for properties that are considered “affordable” and eligible twice since 2018.
For the highest PAAR grant, the maximum increased from $360,000 to $450,000 in 2018 and then to $610,000 in February 2022.
“As the real estate market grew, it became increasingly difficult for many families to qualify for the program,” Valérie Plante explained to an audience of real estate developers at the time.
In December, our Bureau of Investigations revealed that of the 13,000 social and affordable housing units the mayor estimated, only 4,237 new units had been built.
Photo archive, Pierre-Paul Poulin
Valerie Plante
Mayor of Montreal
According to our report, Valérie Plante denied counting PAAR grants as affordable housing creation.
“If we know there is one [des milliers de] Families who could count on direct subsidies to stay in Montreal is important to us,” she said.
Few controls
Although the PAIR’s beneficiaries agree to make their home their primary residence for three years, some are not staying there.
The city has already asked 32 households to pay back their subsidy, despite reviewing few files.
Only 265 out of nearly 1,000 grant applications approved since 2018 have been reviewed.
No file has yet been verified for 2021 or 2022, but the city is making sure it is conducting “strict” follow-up.
“The city has five years to review the files,” said spokesman Guillaume Rivest.
Borrowing prohibited
Following questions from our Bureau of Investigation about the $568,000 condo, the city will begin investigations “as soon as possible” to determine if the owners are still eligible for a subsidy.
Under the program’s criteria, landlords are not allowed to rent. However, they might do so if they buy another apartment in Montreal and move there.
“We will communicate with the beneficiaries of this file in order to carry out the appropriate follow-up. If they no longer meet their commitment, particularly in relation to occupancy, we will proceed with the partial or full claim for the subsidy,” Mr Rivest said.
The owner informed us on Thursday that she no longer wanted to rent.
“It’s our primary residence,” she insisted.
The day after our interview, the rental ad was removed.
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