Latest news with #Officemunicipald'habitationdeMontréal
Montreal Gazette
30-06-2025
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
More than 270 Montreal households on hunt for new home just hours ahead of moving day
By Moving day traditionally brings chaos to Montreal's streets, but those on the front lines of the housing crunch say hundreds of renters are still searching for a new place to call home just hours ahead of July 1. 'Right now, we have more than 270 households supported by our services,' Isabelle Girard-Fortier, director of rental services at the Office municipal d'habitation de Montréal, said in an interview Monday afternoon with The Gazette. 'So, these are households that are still looking for accommodations, but there are also some of these households that are already temporarily staying with us.' The OMHM has rooms blocked off at partnering hotels for those who find themselves without an apartment. But she pointed out those are only temporary and maybe not the most comfortable option for some, such as large families. The municipal housing office can also help shelter people's belongings. Quebec's yearly mass migration takes place on July 1 as that is when the majority of leases begin, but that means many residents are stuck looking for a new apartment at the same time. FRAPRU, a housing advocacy group, noted that 2025 has been 'an extremely difficult year' so far. Tenants are facing 'virtually historic rent increases,' said FRAPRU spokesperson Véronique Laflamme. She cited a recent study from Statistics Canada that found Montreal's rental prices have jumped by 71 per cent since 2019. 'We feel like we haven't seen everything yet with these rent increases' taking effect Tuesday, she said. 'We're really worried that even more tenants will no longer be able to make ends meet and that even more will become impoverished, even though we've already heard year after year from food banks that housing affordability is preventing people from eating properly.' The rising costs are particularly hard on low-income households, particularly seniors, she added. 'The housing search period was very tough because tenants, basically realizing that it would be difficult to absorb the new rent increase, were looking for solutions and realizing that the available rental units were far too expensive,' Laflamme said. Montrealers of all stripes have asked for help when it comes to finding a new apartment, according to the OMHM. The level of demand is around the same as it was in 2024. 'It really varies,' Girard-Fortier said of those who require assistance. 'Last year, we had a lot of single women versus single men. Then, for a few years now, it's increasingly families with children, too.' The office assists renters all over the city, but Girard-Fortier said the Villeray—St-Michel—Parc-Extension, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Montreal North areas are among some of the hot spots this year. Along with other organizations, both the OMHM and FRAPRU will be open on moving day, as well as in the coming days. Their teams will be available to help anyone who needs it. The City of Montreal says anyone who still hasn't found a new home in time should call 311 for assistance.
CBC
05-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Moving day in Montreal is coming — and housing advocates are worried
With moving day in Montreal still two months away, housing advocacy groups say they are already overwhelmed by requests for help. One organization attributes the surge in demand to this year's recommended rent increase by Quebec's housing tribunal, the highest in 30 years, coupled with a persistently low vacancy rate. "Some tenants have the feeling that they are at the limit of what they can pay now already with their rent but they don't have any solution because if they quit what they have right now, they're not going to find something that's necessarily cheaper," said Catherine Lussier, co-ordinator for Le Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU). Despina Sourias, the city's executive committee member in charge of housing, said local organizations are lacking some resources to meet the demand, but Montreal is offering assistance. The city is allocating $1.5 million over three years to help 22 local housing organizations. Residents can also call 211 or 311 for housing help, and the municipal housing office provides an online platform to help renters find affordable apartments. Montreal's rent registry is also available to help identify average rents by neighbourhood, Montreal says in a news release Thursday. Sourias said July 1 is increasingly stressful for Montrealers struggling to find affordable housing, but the city has doubled its support budget since 2019 and continues to work with the Office municipal d'habitation de Montréal (OMHM) to provide guidance and resources. She said the city is committed to raising awareness, offering financial aid and mobilizing partners to ensure no one is left behind. Sourias said these measures help, "but let's be honest, we all have to work together to make the situation better." Lussier described the city's efforts as a temporary fix that fails to address the real needs tenants have. Those needs include rent control and tougher eviction rules. "If we don't cover both of these elements, one is just going to be worse than the other one," she said. "I think there are other measures the Quebec government has to put in place." And, she added, the government needs to act quickly to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. WATCH | Montreal tries to speed up permit approval: Montreal's push to speed up housing construction is working, but not as fast as it hoped 3 days ago Duration 1:44 Since the beginning of 2025, the city's 19 boroughs have set a goal to approve housing projects that don't require special permits within 120 days. It's still early, but the city says so far, the majority of permit approvals are still taking longer than they'd like. Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau has stated that rent supplements are available for those in need, but the eligibility requirements exclude many — especially those evicted for non-payment. Housing came up during the recent federal election. Since winning, Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he'd follow through on creating a new housing entity and provide $25 billion in financing to private developers with a goal of building "twice as many homes per year" using Canadian products, including lumber. Carney's plan sets the goal of building nearly 500,000 new homes annually across Canada. On a local level, since the beginning of 2025, the city's 19 boroughs have set a goal to approve housing projects that don't require special permits within 120 days. It's still early, but the city says so far, the majority of permit approvals are still taking longer than they'd like. At the same time, the city has discovered that 77 per cent of projects don't need special permits.
