According to a study by Corbyn, the rate of vacant or soon-to-be-available housing since the onset of the epidemic has risen to 10% in Montreal Island and Quebec City. Press.
“The sharp fall in immigration, the opportunity to study or work at a distance, the massive returns of homes previously rented to tourists, the high control prison rules, the low attraction to big cities without festive events, or the meeting places all all summarize the document that will be made public this Saturday.
To come to this monitoring, the Quebec Property Owners Corporation (CORPIQ) surveyed 1,538 owners of rental buildings with approximately 40,000 apartments between May 27 and June 11. According to the survey, 5.6% of homes on the island of Montreal are currently vacant, while 4% of leases will be vacated by their tenants at the end of the month without renewal.
In Quebec City, 4.3% are vacant and 4.9% will be released soon. “Privilege abounds,” says Hans Prolette, director of public affairs at CORPIQ, noting that the “benefit” is in favor of tenants. The rate of vacancies or available housing in Montreal and the national capital has more than doubled in the past year.
In contrast, the number of vacant flats in many regions is less than 1%. According to the CORPIQ study, the vacancy rate is now only 0.2% in Pass-Saint-Laurent, Lanadier and Estre. It is at the lowest level everywhere, including in the suburbs of the metropolis.
CORPIQ illustrates this two-speed reality by the large influx of urban dwellers to rural and suburban areas during epidemics, and the purchasing power of many young households, which has increased in the region over the past year.
Another crisis
Although demand in Montreal and Quebec has declined since the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, prices have not followed a similar trend. In a report released in January, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that the average monthly rent in Montreal had risen by 4.2% ($ 891) a year – the largest increase since 2003. In Quebec City, the increase was 2.7%, with the average rent being 4 874.
Keep in mind that the prices currently charged by homeowners in the two major cities of the province are often higher than the average calculated by CMHC. They can easily exceed 500 1,500 or $ 2,000 per month.
The housing situation has reached a critical juncture this yearThere is In July, Veronica Laughlam, a spokeswoman for FRAPRU, an organization defending the rights of tenants, argued.
What we hear from housing groups is that the number of calls from tenants who have fallen victim to various projects to leave their homes or who have been affected by incorrect rent increases is two to three times higher than in the past few years.
Veronica Laflam, FRAPRU spokeswoman
The units available, although they are in large numbers in the cities of Montreal and Quebec, are often “very expensive” or “in poor condition”. The proliferation of “restructuring” cases has raised tensions among many tenants over fears of evictions, MMe Flame. “It’s worrying, it’s really the smash hit of the affordable housing stock that is happening right before our eyes,” he says.
CMHC data confirms the high shortage of low-cost rental units. The vacancy rate last fall was 1.6% for apartments below 25,625, 1.4% for individuals costing between 25625 and 99,899, 2.7% for those rented from $ 900 to 2,299, and 7.4% in the 4 1,300 to 99 1,999 range.
