Montreal set to have 900 new units of non-profit housing

Montreal should soon house some 900 households in new off-market, non-profit housing units.

The federal, provincial and municipal governments dished out a total of $340 million to support the development of 893 social and affordable housing units through 10 community organizations.

Of those, 583 will be eligible for a rental subsidy that sets rent at 25 per cent of household income. All units will be rent-controlled to ensure that they remain affordable, with slower rent increases than in the private market.

“While Montreal is going through a housing crisis, which is directly linked to the homelessness crisis, these projects will alleviate the desperate need faced by our vulnerable population,” said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante in a news release.

“Thanks to these projects, more than 1,000 people will be safe from the streets and able to live in safe, dignified conditions.”

According to the housing ministry, 183 of the announced units already have tenants, and more than 40 per cent should be ready to have people move in by the end of the year.

The project was done in collaboration with Bâtir son quartier, a non-profit organization that coordinates community and social housing projects.

Edith Cyr, head of the organization, said the move shows how community housing can respond to the needs of Montrealers through diverse projects. The organizations that benefit from new funding include cooperatives, new resources for people experiencing homelessness, housing for families, seniors, and low-income women.

“All these projects make it possible to find affordable, long-term housing in a supportive, inclusive environment,” she said.

‘Real solutions’ to homelessness

Some of the projects include housing for vulnerable women, housing for lesbian seniors and studios for people exiting or at risk of entering homelessness.

"Lower income households are living this crisis more drastically,” said Jean-Pascal Beaudoin, a strategic counsellor for Bâtir son quartier.

"In a healthy real estate market, you have choices. Lower income families have no or very little choice … we want to make sure that this part of society, they can have access.”

Beaudoin added that many people either live in apartments they can barely afford or accept sub-par conditions because anything else is out of their reach. The new initiatives aim to offset this by offering quality community and social housing.

James Hughes, head of the Old Brewery Mission – one of the 10 partner organizations – said it’s taken four years to build the 27 new studios it will have to offer in the Saint-Michel neighbourhood. The non-profit also offers emergency shelters, but Hugues is excited to add to its permanent housing stock.

The facilities will be available to both men and women 50 and up and include an office for caregivers and a community space. The Old Brewery Mission support team will offer individualized psychosocial support and follow-up. It should be ready by February.

“The announcement about real solutions so that people are as far away from the risks and the trauma of homelessness as possible is really wonderful,” Hughes said.

He stressed that the city lost tens of thousands of affordable housing units over the last few years, which has made rehousing vulnerable people a difficult task.

At a news conference Friday, Plante said 20 per cent of the city’s housing stock should be affordable – but right now it’s sitting at around four or five per cent.

“We got to continue to put our foot on the pedal and hopefully have more announcements like the one we did today in the near future," said Huhues.

Véronique Laflamme, a spokesperson for the housing advocacy organization the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) said that although the projects took years to get off the ground, the units are “very good news.”

“At a time when we are all too often hearing about affordable housing that isn’t really affordable and isn’t always in line with the needs of tenants and their communities, we’re delighted that genuine social housing projects are finally getting off the ground,” she said.

She hopes the government will continue to invest and make up for the lack of social housing in the province. 

Habitation Héritage de Pointe Saint-Charles, Coopérative d'habitation de la Pointe Amicale, Résidence LoReli, Coopérative d'habitation le Trapèze, Espace la Traversée-Soeurs-de-Sainte-Anne, Coopérative d'habitation Laurentienne, Loge-Accès OSHA phase 7, Maison Glaneuses, and the Mission Old Brewery will all benefit from new funding.