Around 1,700 households still looking for housing in Quebec

The day after July 1, more than a thousand Quebec households are still being supported by housing search assistance services, estimates FRAPRU, which will publish its full report during the week.

As of Tuesday morning, 1,300 tenants were still being supported by support services. In addition to this number, there were 385 households in temporary accommodation, meaning they were staying with relatives but were still looking for accommodation.

In an interview on the show Midi info broadcast on ICI Première, the spokesperson for the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), Véronique Laflamme, believes that these numbers say a lot about the housing crisis in the province.

The situation has deteriorated. Last year, on the eve of July 1, there were far fewer tenants supported by support services.

According to the latter, the combination of several factors explains the current situation: the scarcity of rental housing, unaffordability, as well as the increase in evictions.

It makes a differenceshe notes.

However, she finds extremely positive the fact that there are now housing assistance services in more than forty municipalities in Quebec. This service, which used to be funded by the municipalities, is now funded year-round by the Société d’habitation du Québec.

Ms. Laflamme notes, however, that the assistance offered regarding temporary accommodation is uneven across the province. Not all municipalities want to offer this type of accommodation, because it is becoming more and more expensive, and it takes more and more time. [pour trouver un logement]she explains.

More alternatives to private housing

In an interview, the spokesperson for the I HIT proposed short-term solutions to curb the rapid rise in rents. She would like to see mandatory monitoring of rent increases, as well as a rent register that would prove a useful tool for tenants.

% [du loyer] when there is a change of tenant”,”text”:”According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), in Montreal alone there is a 19% increase [du loyer] when there is a change of tenant”}}”>According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), in Montreal alone there is a 19% increase. [du loyer] when there is a change of tenantshe laments.

She would also like to see more options other than private housing. We often hear that we need to build, build, build. We may solve the problem of scarcity, but we will have an even bigger problem of unaffordability.she says.

Ms. Laflamme also advocates the construction of non-profit housing, housing cooperatives and low-rent social housing, which today only represents 10% of the rental stock.

Several solutions put forward, assures Duranceau

The Minister responsible for Housing in Quebec, France-Élaine Duranceau, nevertheless wanted to defend her record in an interview on the show Midi info on the airwaves of ICI Première.

We have given special powers to cities to speed up the issuance of building permits. We have also proposed a bill to improve the flexibility of working conditions for workers in the construction sector.she listed.

The minister also mentioned the addition last November of $1.8 billion over five years to create 8,000 new social and affordable housing units, including 500 units for people experiencing homelessness.

She also touted Bill 65, which prohibits evictions for three years and has been in effect since June 6.

There were several things that were put forward and that we continue to work on.she assured Mathieu Belhumeur.

She reiterated that the supply of housing, even the most expensive, must be increased.

We need to build all types of housing, social, affordable, and also a little more expensive, because there is a domino effect. When people move to more expensive housing, it frees up more affordable housing.

Projects [au niveau du logement social et abordable] are moving forward and will come out of the ground, and that will take the pressure off. It won’t take six months or a year, but we will eventually see the fruits of our efforts.she added.

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