According to the latest figures from the Office Municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM), four out of five low-income housing (HLM) buildings in the metropolis are in “poor” or “very poor condition”.
Posted at 1:33 p.m
The organization assures that the situation should improve in the short term thanks to significant investments from Quebec and Ottawa, but its results for 2023 show a continued deterioration of the situation.
Of 838 HLM buildings (more than 20,000 apartments in total), 664 have a dilapidation index of “D” or “E,” or 79% of them, according to an email from the OMHM communications director. Last year, 75% of buildings were in the same situation. In 2021 it was more like 66%.
The dilapidation index ranges from “A” for a building in “very good condition” to “E” for a building in “very poor condition”.
In addition, 17 of the “E” rated buildings were completely barricaded by the OMHM, representing a total of 384 demolished housing units. In 2021, the OMHM stated that “more than 340 HLM housing units” were uninhabitable due to their condition.
“The impact of our 2023 investments on the Condition Index will be felt around summer 2024, when the 2023 projects will be completed and administratively closed in our reporting systems,” said Mathieu Vachon, Director of the Service of Services. Communications from the OMHM, via email. “Although the HLM share has been suffering from underinvestment for years, the necessary sums are now available to renovate our real estate portfolio! The Government of Quebec has various programs and agreements with the federal government that can invest $3.3 billion in the renovation and/or reconstruction of HLM Park in Quebec by 2028. »
Mr. Vachon also emphasized that rising construction costs have an impact on the calculation of the dilapidation index.
The OMHM released these figures following a presentation by its president Isabelle Pépin last Thursday at Montreal City Hall.