More than 270 Montreal households on hunt for new home just hours ahead of moving day
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.
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CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Quebec moving day struggles highlight need for social housing, advocates say
A woman enters a building next to a sign advertising an apartment for rent on moving day in Montreal, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press) About 2,000 people in Quebec still needed help finding housing on moving day, and advocates say affordable units are scarce. By July 2, that number was down to 1,902. The Société d'habitation du Québec said that of those, 406 are in temporary rehousing, 167 are in hotels and 239 are staying with relatives. 'It should also be noted that these households receiving more intensive support are not necessarily homeless, and even less so living on the streets,' the SHQ said in an email statement. 'All households requesting assistance are supported until a lasting solution to their situation is found. It is not too late to request assistance, as [housing assistance services] operate year-round.' The SHQ received 8,945 requests for housing assistance by July 1 in 2025, 51 per cent of the 17,374 total requests in 2024. Housing advocacy group the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) says a lack of affordability is driving the housing crisis. According to Statistics Canada, asking rent in Montreal has risen by nearly 71 per cent since 2019. 'The median income for all tenants in Quebec was $48,400 at the time of the 2021 census. Nearly 373,000 tenant households in Quebec were already paying more than the standard 30 per cent of their income for housing,' said FRAPRU in a news release. 'It is the ability to pay of these households, which are increasingly being excluded from the private market, that should guide housing policies.' Many tenants who renewed their leases accepted rent hikes they can barely afford, said FRAPRU, as the average increase this year is at an all-time high of 5.9 per cent. 'The extent of the resulting poor housing conditions is still underestimated: domestic violence endured, life plans abandoned, etc. A tight budget jeopardizes the right to health and dignity,' said FRAPRU. CAQ policies criticized The advocacy group stresses that the solution lies in building more social housing, outside the speculative market. 'We can flood the market with new housing, but if it's not truly affordable right away, we won't solve anything,' said FRAPRU spokesperson Véronique Laflamme. She believes governments must set specific targets for the construction of social housing to double the number of units within 15 years. In 2024, the CHMC released a report showing that though Montreal's vacancy rate rose slightly, rents still increased and remained unaffordable for available units. 'As long as social housing does not represent a much larger share of the rental market, the crisis will continue. This is not inevitable: it is a political choice,' said Laflamme. FRAPRU deplores policy changes made under the Coalition Avenir Quebec government, including ending its social housing program in favour of an 'affordable' program (PHAQ) available to private developers. Recent changes to the program allow rents of up to 150 per cent of the median market rent for units built using public funds. The CAQ also passed legislation limiting lease transfers, which were used by tenants as a tool to maintain affordability, and advocates have criticized the Housing Minister's new formula to calculate rent hikes, saying it will allow even higher increases. FRAPRU highlighted that it's taking households receiving housing assistance are waiting longer to find a place, and the numbers around July 1 are just the tip of the iceberg as issues persist year-round. 'This illustrates the depth of the crisis: the scarcity of available housing combined with high prices is preventing thousands of tenants from finding permanent accommodation within an acceptable timeframe and under acceptable conditions,' said FRAPRU.
Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
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Hanes: Beyond the moving day blues, July 1 has become a day of upheaval and heartbreak
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They also expose how much work it will take to return to pre-pandemic levels of affordability (never mind the good ol' days of decades past). In a new quarterly report on rent prices, Statistics Canada last week revealed that there has been a surge in asking rents in Montreal since 2019. The average cost of a two-bedroom apartment is $1,930, up from $1,130 five years ago. Montreal now ranks 17th on the list of most expensive Canadian cities to lease an apartment. It's still a far cry from Vancouver, where the monthly rent averages $3,170, or Toronto, where it's $2,690, or even Ottawa, where it's $2,490. But Montreal is catching up and prices could go higher — especially after Quebec's Tribunal administratif du logement prescribed a 5.9 per cent average rent hike for 2025. It also explains why moving day has been filled with such trepidation in recent years, because new leases tend to be offered at higher prices. 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Moving day means big rent jumps for many Montrealers
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