Organization spearheading initiatives call for action to support renters
As the impending July 1 deadline approaches, Montreal renters are facing a mounting housing crisis, particularly impacting those with low incomes, according to the latest data from Centraide of Greater Montreal.
The organization’s residual income measure, an annual benchmark, paints a troubling picture. Established in collaboration with McKinsey & Company in May 2023, the residual income measure serves as a vital tool to monitor housing situations in the region. It aggregates various data points to assess how people’s incomes match up against essential living expenses, with a focus on housing, food, clothing, and transportation.
This year, the measure reveals that renters in Greater Montreal require a minimum annual income of $31,000 to cover these basics. However, a sizeable 310,000 households, up by approximately 18,000 from the previous year, fall short of meeting this threshold.
In response to this crisis, civil society is stepping up, with Centraide of Greater Montreal leading the charge. Since its inception, Centraide has collaborated with various partners to identify and implement solutions to this pressing issue.
Claude Pinard, president and executive director of Centraide of Greater Montreal, underscores the urgency of the situation. “High housing costs and the current shortage have increased people’s needs and in turn put pressure on the community sector,” he said.
“We have increased our financial support for housing committees to help thousands of tenants who are dealing with housing problems, which have a domino effect on other social issues, such as mental health, child development, domestic violence, and homelessness. It is imperative that we keep pooling our solutions in order to tackle this human crisis.”
Initiatives to support low-income households
In response, stakeholders from public, private, and community sectors, along with ordinary citizens, are mobilizing efforts to address the housing shortage. Initiatives range from research reports like the Vital Signs on Housing to collaborative projects like the Groupe d’accélération pour l’optimisation du projet de l'hippodrome (GALOPH), aimed at transforming large plots of land into inclusive neighborhoods with thousands of affordable housing units.
The Plancher Fund, managed by the Community Housing Transformation Centre, aims to leverage community housing assets to construct new units. Additionally, Centraide of Greater Montreal is repurposing its parking lot for housing, with the land being acquired by UTILE, a leader in student housing development and anti-speculation efforts.
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