The City of Longueuil announced on Tuesday that it purchased a collection of rooming houses for over 100 vulnerable people on Montreal’s South Shore. The city purchased the Chez Lise rooming house buildings to preserve them as affordable housing for up to 126 people. “For many vulnerable people, rooming houses represent the last line of defence against homelessness,” the city said in a news release. The seven-building block is one of the largest clusters of rooming houses in Longueuil, the city says. “It offers vulnerable residents rooms and apartments, services – particularly food provision – as well as spaces for respite and recuperation,” the release reads. The city added, however, that the buildings are not subsidized by Quebec’s housing society (SHQ), and are not guaranteed to retain their status in the event of a sale. The city decided, therefore, to secure a right of pre-emption, meaning that the city can block any sale with a right of first refusal. “The city is therefore making use of an exceptional measure to protect this resource in the long term and prevent the loss of an asset that is essential to the community, in close collaboration with its partners,” the city said. Chez Lise is a private rooming house, which has been for sale for several months. “In the midst of a housing crisis and with homelessness rising dramatically, we cannot afford to lose a single room in a last-resort facility such as Chez Lise, let alone 126,” said Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier. “Chez Lise is not just a block of apartments: it is a safety net for over a hundred people who, without this facility, would probably have nowhere else to go.” The city said it will develop a management and occupancy plan for the buildings over the coming weeks.
