As the moving season approaches, tenants are caught between the hammer of the housing shortage and the hard place of rising rents, according to a recent report which urges Quebec to better protect tenants.
The study by the Group of Housing Committees and Tenant Associations of Quebec (RCLALQ) published Wednesday shows a rental market that is more unbalanced than ever, due to practices of uncontrolled rent increases.
“Housing has become a nightmare for tenants. What is all the more distressing is that the response from the Quebec government is limited to wanting to stimulate the supply of unaffordable private housing,” lamented Cédric Dussault, spokesperson for the RCLALQ, as the moving period.
Since 2020, the organization has recorded rent increases of 27% in Montreal, 33% in Quebec, 37% in Saguenay, 44% in Sherbrooke, 49% in Rimouski and even 50% in Trois-Rivières, for available housing. .
During this four-year period, which saw this surge in rent prices, inflation increased much less quickly than rents with an overall increase of 17%, according to the Regroupement’s findings.
The RCLALQ lists certain factors which accentuate the housing shortage such as the concentration of property in the hands of a limited number of real estate companies, tourist rentals and the monopolization of the rental stock by certain sectors of activity.
In addition, the search for housing has become a journey strewn with pitfalls for tenants, while the proliferation of rental platforms and discriminatory practices in the selection of tenants further complicate the situation.
“To act against the crisis, there is no other way than to better protect tenants. We hope that the Quebec government will eventually open its eyes, and quickly,” argued the RCLALQ spokesperson.
