If Montrealers want to pay about a third of their income on rent, they have to make $33 an hour, a new report shows. Zoocasa, a company specializing in real-estate, crunched the numbers for 51 cities after several Canadian provinces raised their minimum wage. It determined the lowest income required to rent a one-bedroom apartment affordably under the 32 per cent rule. This has long been “a standard that’s supposed to leave room for food, transportation, savings, and a little breathing room for the unexpected,” says the report. In Quebec, the minimum wage went up from $15.75 to $16.10 in May. According to the data compiled from Rentals.ca listing prices, the average one-bedroom in Montreal costs $1,729 per month. For that to be affordable, a tenant would have to earn $64,838 per year in gross salary, or $33.25 per hour. “But for Canadians earning minimum wage, that target feels like an impossible dream,” the report says. A full-time worker putting in 37.5 hours at minimum wage in Quebec earns $31,395 a year in gross salary. To meet the 32 per cent standard, their rent should be about $830. “The problem is that in most Canadian cities, even a basic one-bedroom apartment costs nearly double, or even triple, that amount,” the report says. “While minimum wages have climbed, rent has continued to rise faster, leaving workers locked in a cycle where a full-time job doesn’t guarantee affordable housing.” The report stresses that the country is seeing a real affordability challenge that can only be resolved by tying income standards to “real-world” housing costs. In the meantime, minimum wage does not “truly reflects what it takes to live, not just survive,” or cover essentials like shelter, food, clothing, transportation, saving for the future or caring for dependents. Margaret van Nooten of Projet Genesis says it shows government measures around rent control have failed. She points out that people on welfare and seniors receiving a fixed pension who don’t have access to social housing are hit hardest. “We’ll have to tolerate lack of heating, vermin infestation and perhaps mould, women in situations of domestic violence who don’t dare to leave because they know they won’t be able to find a place,” said van Nooten. She says there are many on the verge of homelessness, and with Quebec’s Housing Tribunal (TAL) allowing large increases every year, “we can see is that the private market cannot be counted on to provide housing for people.” With files from CTV News Montreal’s Laurence Brisson Dubreuil
