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Montreal

Quebec ramping up support for households, months ahead of moving day

With a housing crisis and low vacancy rates, Quebecs minister responsible for housing has announced an additional $7.8 million to help support people looking for a new place to live.

Housing minister says this year might be 'more complicated' for households

How to get help if you can't find a home by July 1

5 months ago
Duration 1:33
Quebec is adding to the list of resources that exist to help tenants find and afford housing, but experts say those resources are in high demand.

With the July 1 moving day mere months away, the Quebec government has announced an additional $7.8 million to help housing offices and municipalities support households in need.

At a news conference Tuesday, France-laine Duranceau, Quebec's minister responsible for housing, says with a low vacancy rate across the province, this year might be "worse or more complicated."

"Our goal is clear: For everyone who reaches out to have a roof over their heads," said Duranceau.

"We're there to help."

She says more than 5,000 households have already asked for helpsince January.

Two men move a mattress up the spiraling staircase of a Montreal duplex.
Quebecs minister responsible for housing has announced new measures to support households ahead of moving day. She says more than 5,000 households have already asked for help since January. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

The additional $7.8 million will help meet the urgent needs of households who don't have a place to stay by setting up services d'aide la recherche de logement (SARL), housing search assistance centres.

Around 40 SARLs are already in operation across Quebec.

This year, not only will additional funds help reimburse certain costs relating to temporary accommodation but it will enable SARLs to benefit from experts specializing in psychological support, says Duranceau.

'It's not going where the needs are,' says advocate

CdricDussault, spokesperson for the Coalition of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec, also known as RCLALQ, called this measure "a little bit absurd."

"A lot of those people, they don't want psychological help. They just want a roof over their head," said Dussault.

"It's really insulting for tenants also to be reduced to that. As if the problem was psychological, where the distress is real, it is material and it should be addressed this way."

While the province is investing resources in supporting people trying to find a place to live, it's not addressing the root problem of the housing shortage, says Dussault.

A woman speaks in front of journalists.
Minister France-laine Duranceau, pictured in 2023, announced Tuesday additional support for households ahead of what could be a "more complicated" July 1. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/CBC)

"It's basically a recycling of last year's announcement and the year before," said Dussault.

He says the government needs to put forward long-term solutions that address the rent increases as well as what he calls an "epidemic of evictions."

"The rents have been exploding last year, we're talking about throughout the province rent raising on average of 14 per cent. So this year probably it's going to be even higher," said Dussault.

He says the problem gets more dire every year.

"When the Minister of Housing is saying that the objective is that nobody is gonna be in the streets on July 1, well they failed last year, they failed the year before, and it's going to fail again this year," said Dussault.

man wearing shirt that says
RCLALQ spokesperson Cdric Dussault, pictured last year, is calling for long-term solutions, including rent control policies. (Chlo Ranaldi/CBC)

He suspects there could even be more people on the streets than the year before.

"We are pretty worried for this year too. We've seen tenants already calling earlier," saidCatherine Lussier,co-ordinator at Front d'action populaire en ramnagement urbain (FRAPRU), an organization advocating for the right to housing.

She agrees that the government should address root problems, including why tenants lose their apartments in the first place suggesting a rent control measure as an example.

"We are really worried that this situation is going to get worse," said Lussier.

She said today's announcement is a start.

'We're expecting a tough July 1'

Minister Duranceaualso announced flexibility in Quebec's housing supplement program, Programme de supplment au loyer Qubec (PSLQ).

PSLQ enables low-income households who apply through their housing office to live in private housing while paying rent similar to that of a low-rent home, or rent that is 25 per cent of their income.

This program will be made more flexible to enable housing offices to accelerate the allocation of subsidized housing to households on thewait-list.

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"We welcome this morning's announcement," saidDany Caron, the general manager of Quebec City's housing office.

"We're expecting a tough July 1."

He says his organization is preparing for the difficult year and that it'scrucial people get started early in looking for new accommodation.

Duranceaualso highlighted the importance of people reaching out for support.

The Socit d'habitation du Qubec (SHQ) customer relations centre has extended their opening hours to better serve residents looking for housing and will be open seven days a week from June 15 to July 14, with the exception of June 24.

With files from milie Warren