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CTV News
16-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Québec Solidaire housing critic launches petition to change rent hike formula
Quebec Solidaire MNA Andres Fontecilla questions the government during question period, Thursday, September 28, 2023 at the legislature in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) Three months after Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau announced she was altering the formula used to calculate rent hikes, Québec Solidaire (QS)'s Andrès Fontecilla launched a petition to change it again. Calculations have shown that though the new method would have led to a slightly lower average rent increase this year, it would be a bit higher in subsequent years. The new proposed regulation bases rent increases on a base percentage, the consumer price index, variation in municipal and school taxes, insurance costs and capital expenditures. Though landlord associations said they were pleased with the changes, tenants and advocates have pointed out that the formula will allow for even higher rent increases. Quebec's housing tribunal predicted the average rent increase this year would be 5.9 per cent, an all-time high. Fontecilla stresses that the number will be the 'minimum' as 'many, many landlords will have an even higher increase.' The new rent hike formula will 'take money out of renters' pockets and into the pockets of landlords,' said Fontecilla. READ MORE: Quebec is changing how rent increases will be calculated after hikes hit historic high His petition, which garnered over 5,200 signatures in just a few days, says 'the use of the overall CPI as the main criterion for increases does not adequately reflect the specific costs associated with the operation of rental properties and maintains the influence of market fluctuations in the calculation of increases.' It also points out that the draft regulation does not protect access to housing or provide rent caps. Those signing the petition are urging MNAs to reject the current draft regulation, develop a new one aimed at genuine rent control based on operating expenses, and introduce an absolute cap on yearly rent hikes. The petition also calls for the creation of a public rent registry, accessible free of charge, allowing tenants to view the history of rents and major renovations, and a rent freeze until a 'new, fair regulation' comes into effect. A spokesperson for Duranceau's office said the current calculation formula had been in use for 40 years and needed to change as it was complicated to understand for both landlords and tenants. Duranceau said the new method, which she said is a 'balanced proposal,' will be more predictable, easier to understand and will lead to fewer cases before the housing tribunal. 'The goal is to maintain balance by offering more predictability for both tenants and landlords. By using the average CPI over the last three years, we avoid large variations. And it is easier to understand,' she said in an email. But Fontecilla accused Duranceau of protecting the interests of landlords to the 'systematic' detriment of renters, who make up 40 per cent of Quebec's population. About 63 per cent of Montrealers rent. 'It even rewards bad landlords because even if there will be an automatic increase for them even if they did absolutely nothing for the building and let it degrade,' he told CTV News. He added he hopes every renter in the province will sign the petition to put pressure on Duranceau to rethink the method and to put in place better rent control measures. Fontecilla said a new method should be more balanced, reward landlords who improve their dwellings and that will help reduce pressure on renters. 'The main issue at the heart of the housing crisis is that rents are increasing too much too quickly and it's impoverishing tenants,' he said. Meanwhile, landlords have been complaining about losing money due to Quebec's rent regulations. But Fontecilla pushed back, saying the real-estate business has never been so profitable and there 'must be an end to speculative activity.' Fontecilla hopes to bring the petition to the National Assembly at the beginning of the next session in September.
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Quebec to allow roommates in low-income housing
Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau at a press conference in Quebec City on 22 May 2024.(Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) The Quebec government has tabled a draft regulation to allow roommate situations in subsidized low-income housing (HLM). Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau made the announcement on Wednesday morning, explaining that the government wants 'more people to have access to low-income housing while ensuring that there are as few under-occupied units as possible.' The draft regulation, published in the Gazette officielle du Québec, would amend the low-rent housing regulation to allow roommate situations. Many have been pushing the government to change its rules on sharing HLMs. Currently, it is only permitted when a household includes a caregiver in housing intended for people aged 65 and over, and in housing intended for people with disabilities or needs that require special facilities. In a news release, the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ) said permitting shared accommodation in social housing 'will allow for a better match between the composition of households and the types of housing available, while contributing to more efficient management of the housing stock.' According to the SHQ, subsidized programs currently support more than 114,320 low-income households, with rent fixed at 25 per cent of their income. Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Guillaume Cliche-Rivard has been pressing François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government on this issue since May. In a press release, he welcomed Duranceau's announcement, noting that 'this change will make several hundred places available in social housing.' 'This is not going to solve the housing crisis, but I am glad that the CAQ has finally agreed to adopt this measure, which is cost-neutral,' he added. He said he hopes the administration will be willing to study and implement other measures to alleviate the affordability crisis, like capping rent increases and ending blind bidding wars. Now that the draft regulation has been pre-published in the Gazette officielle du Québec, it is subject to a 45-day public consultation period before adoption. Provisions for domestic violence, disaster victims The draft also suggests amendments for victims of conjugal violence, like replacing the notion of 'victim of domestic violence' with 'victim of family violence, including domestic violence.' It will allow applicants for low-income housing to use a certificate issued by a centre for victims of crime to find a home. Additionally, the government said it will extend the deadline for priority applications to low-income housing to 30 days following a disaster or having a dwelling declared unfit for habitation. With files from The Canadian Press.
