Social housing: Quebec City is “drowning the fish”, thunders FRAPRU

The Popular Action Front for Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU) deplores the lack of social housing started in Quebec since the start of the year. The organization says it is seeing a “shift” towards the creation of affordable housing at much higher rents.

This is a major gapexclaims Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for the I HIT.

While the Marchand administration celebrates the construction of more than 900 subsidized housing units in 2024, a high in at least 10 years, the community sector fears seeing many low-income families left behind.

The core of the announcement, approximately 680 units, is affordable housing. Only 226 units are identified for social housing.

We drown the fishcritic Véronique Laflamme. We are told about social and affordable housing, but only a quarter of the announcement is reserved for low-income households.

We risk leaving the most vulnerable households in the lurch, those whose needs are the most urgent.

Véronique Laflamme points out that the rent for social housing is set based on the tenant’s income.

For affordable units, the rent is established taking into account the cost of housing in a given area. In a tense real estate market, even if affordable rents are subsidized by the government, they remain much more expensive than social housing.

New program

If the explosion of affordable housing captures the imagination in Quebec, the scenario was predictable, according to the I HITdue to the Legault government’s abolition of the AccèsLogis program, focused on social housing.

Its successor, the Quebec Affordable Housing Program (PHAQ), makes no secret of its objectives.

For the first time in 25 years, Quebec does not have a program for social housingplague Véronique Laflamme.

Yes, yes PHAQ allows the construction of social housing, the absence of clear tags would not favor this type of housing.

According to Véronique Laflamme, unless the Legault government corrects the situation, social housing projects will decline significantly in Quebec cities over the coming years.

And rampart against homelessness?

This situation particularly worries the I HIT in a context where the phenomenon of homelessness is worsening in Quebec cities.

With the housing shortage, many vulnerable people find themselves on the streets due to lack of affordable rent.

It is known that social housing is a shield against homelessness!

Véronique Laflamme points out the “exploding evictions” and the real estate speculation as so much proof that the housing crisis is far from being brought under control in Quebec.

The construction of affordable housing is necessary, concedes I HITas long as social housing continues to be part of the solution.