One in four families lives in housing that is not affordable for them in Montreal. Meanwhile, rents are only climbing, as in Saint-Hubert, in the suburbs, where they have increased by 69% in five years.
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These are just some of the findings from a report that has just been published by the Foundation of Greater Montreal and Centraide of Greater Montreal in collaboration with the Institut du Québec (IDQ).
To be affordable, housing must cost less than 30% of a household’s gross income, which includes electricity costs.
On the Island of Montreal, 29% of households devote more than 30% of their income to housing, compared to 17% in Laval and 13% on the South Shore.
“The affordability issue mainly affects tenants. The problem goes beyond the housing crisis. We want to help community organizations target their actions,” explains Emna Braham, Executive Director of the IDQ.
Between 2016 and 2021, for example, a family that had to move from one 2-bedroom apartment to another saw the rent go up by an average of 39%.
Those who stayed in the same place, on average, saw their rent increase by 20%.
Nothing to rent in several places
Housing supply is increasingly limited, which is at the heart of the crisis. The critical point of the vacancy rate is 3%. In the greater Montreal area, this is exactly where it is located.
“In Mascouche, it is 0.1% and in Carignan, 0.2%. There is absolutely no housing in these cities, and in general, the issue of availability is greater in the suburbs,” notes Ms.me Braham.
On the South Shore of Montreal, Marco Monzon notices that things have been deteriorating since at least 2018.
“We know the solution, we need more social housing. But it’s a lot of work to convince elected officials,” says the director general of the South Shore Housing Committee.
Over the past four years, the number of calls he and his team have received has jumped 134%.
Tenants also ask for help with more complex problems, “perhaps because they are more vulnerable and less able to manage on their own”.
More housing repossessions
Some are experiencing harassment from landlords, he says, as the number of repossessions has risen sharply.
“We even see owners of residences for the elderly change the vocation of their building because it pays more to rent to anyone,” notes Mr. Monzon.
He observes that the housing problem is “escalating” and that there is no magic bullet.
“Even if we launched a major social housing project tomorrow morning, we would be far from settling everything,” he said.
One of the first steps should be to establish a rent register so that tenants know exactly how much an apartment cost before it became vacant.
Less serious situation in Quebec
In the metropolitan region of Quebec, the situation of households improved between the 2016 and 2021 census.
From 17.8% of households devoting 30% or more of their income to housing costs, the proportion fell to 14.3% last year. Among renters, the decline is significant: 23.5% of households spent 30% or more of their income on housing last year, compared to 30% in 2016.
During the same period, the average price of a dwelling went from $796 to $905 in the Quebec City metropolitan area.
However, the rate of owner households has fallen by 3% since 2016, to 58%.
– With the collaboration of Valérie Lesage
THE HOUSING CRISIS IN FIGURES
39 %
Increase in the average price of an unoccupied 2-bedroom apartment in 5 years in Montreal
0,1 %
Housing vacancy rate in Mascouche
69 %
Increase in average rents in the Saint-Hubert de Longueuil borough, from 2016 to 2021
5 %
Percentage of Montreal households that devote 80% or more of their income to housing, compared to 2% in Laval and 1% on the South Shore
Source : rapport Vital Signs of Greater Montreal