(Montreal) The housing situation is critical and Quebec must step up now and act decisively to deal with the crisis.
Posted yesterday at 5:50pm.
Pierre Saint-Arnaud The Canadian Press
“We hear the cauldron whistling,” reads the 65-page report, prepared at the end of the “Agir ensemble pour le logement” event, held on May 15 under the auspices of Centraide of Greater Montreal.
The organization’s President and CEO, Claude Pinard, does not mince his words in his introduction, saying that “governments need to come up with solid programs to support the people throughout the year – and not just with the upcoming July 1st or winter. Some of these programs already exist, but they need to be improved, expanded and revised to compensate for the current lack of social and affordable housing. »
“Quebec’s government must respond and assume its responsibilities with regard to social housing,” stresses Mr. Pinard.
Rarer and less accessible
The diagnosis has been clear for years, but the latest data shows, for example, that in 2022 the number of available two-bedroom units has increased by 88% on Montreal’s South Shore, 66% in Laval and 35% on the island Montreal compared to an already occupied apartment. Living space is not only becoming increasingly rare, it is also becoming less and less accessible.
Participants in the May meeting came from all walks of life; Politics, community, private, foundations and citizens. They have offered multiple solutions to solve problems that just can’t be ignored any longer.
Take care of the existing building
As a first step, they called for investments and support for these investments in maintaining the rental stock. Of Montreal’s 94,000 HLM units, as many as 41% of the buildings are “in very poor condition” and 31% are “in poor condition” after years of neglect. On the private side, much of the accommodation is ramshackle or unsanitary.
First of all, participants believe that clearer data collection on the condition of buildings and units is essential. Then they specifically call for mandatory laws that require owners to renovate their outdated or unsanitary units, penalties for demolition to encourage renovation, and more resources for organizations like cooperatives that don’t have the funds to fund the work.
We also propose withdrawing more housing from the speculative market, establishing redevelopment cooperatives, promoting group buying for the benefit of owners and managers, and supporting owner-occupiers.
Support the offer more intelligently
In order to develop a new offer while construction activity is declining despite the shortage, we call for a review of the framework for land transfers, a relaxation of the rules for the conversion of listed buildings into social and affordable housing, and a better exercise of the right of first refusal for cities to acquire land and buildings Protecting buildings from real estate speculation, or regulations to keep new projects affordable.
Participants also put forward the idea of exempting NPOs such as religious communities from municipal taxes or at least reducing them by 50% and increasing funding for existing programs such as AccèsLogis and adding new ones, such as granting 25% permanent capital to a project provide or facilitate the conversion of small, uninhabited buildings.
protect rights better
Participants in a workshop on tenants’ rights and their access to justice insisted on the right to housing being enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They strongly condemned the toleration of unhygienic housing, landlords who require three or six months’ rent upon signing the lease, unjustified evictions and discrimination against newcomers and Aborigines.
Several recommendations are directed to the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL), notably expediting proceedings in cases of no heating, unsanitary or other cases, hiring social workers through the TAL to assist vulnerable tenants, reducing delays in general, and allowing class actions , Check rents bindingly.
We also call for a moratorium on evictions and repossessions, and a ban on Airbnb and other short-term tourist rentals.
Finally, the book of recommendations calls for better community support, not only for organizations working in housing, but also through access to local services and through campaigns to increase social acceptance and fight prejudice by promoting co-education.
There is no doubt, according to the participants, that the time for observation is over and the time for tough intervention and firm political will has long since come. Quebec’s response to the housing crisis has proved late, according to many, and it remains to be seen whether the Legault government got the message beyond the July 1 emergency.