Despite the suggestion of a substantial increase of 5.9% in rent prices from the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL), Prime Minister François Legault does not intend to intervene as requested by the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ).
According to the head of government, the solution to ending the housing crisis involves increasing supply.
“Our help will be to continue to build affordable housing and to continue to have more families eligible for programs, such as Accès logis. (…) I remind you that we are helping more than 100,000 families to pay their rent,” he said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Although he recognizes that the increase will be “very hard for certain people”, François Legault does not think that it is up to the State to intervene, because housing is in the “private sector” and that the TAL is a “independent court”.
The TAL suggests an average rental price increase of 5.9% in 2025, a marked jump from the growth estimate of recent years.
This is the estimate for basic unheated accommodation. According to this hypothesis, a tenant who pays rent of $1,000 could see his bill increase to $1,059 when his lease is renewed.
Last year, its rent increase projection was 4%, while it was 2.3% in 2023 and 1.28% in 2022.
“This is unacceptable!”
-Earlier Wednesday, interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay asked the Legault government to intervene to reduce the increase in rent prices, as he did to cap hydroelectricity rates at 3%.
“The 5.9% increase in rents that will be permitted does not pass the test. This is unacceptable! We need to revisit that. The minister can act; the Legault government can act on this, but they will not,” he said on the sidelines of his party’s caucus in Estrie.
Asked to clarify his thoughts, Mr. Tanguay affirmed that the government has already done so with the Régie de l’énergie for hydroelectricity rates.
“The government can decide to come and help Quebecers on an ad hoc basis. This rent increase will actually have a major impact on the budgets of thousands of Quebecers from July 1. (…) We cannot stand idly by. We must review this decision, this impact,” he added.
The Liberal leader therefore goes further than his housing spokesperson, Virginie Dufour, who said on Tuesday: “I think it is not possible to intervene at this stage and reduce an increase. »
The PLQ also asks to change the way in which the suggested increase in the TAL is calculated.
