The crisis in affordable housing – the Montreal example

Human Rights Magazine

In Canada, the last time housing was considered to be affordable, relative to income, was in 2004

The average price of a home in the Toronto area, the country’s most populated, is more than $1 million.

In Quebec too, where the housing market has been historically affordable, there has been a significant decline in affordability over recent years.

In Quebec’s largest city, Montreal, new rentals are, on average, 50% higher than the rents in occupied apartments. The vacancy rate is very low, so apartments are hard to find and so some landlords are evicting their current tenants to get a higher income from new tenants.

The projected influx of immigration to Canada means the problem will get worse, since new housing construction is not expected to match demand.

In this episode of Human Rights Magazine, Joel Sawmadal explores the situation in Montreal.

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