On the campaign trail: Can Montreal fix its housing crisis?

A construction worker is seen working on the site of a new condo development in Montreal, Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

All five parties vying to take over City Hall agree on one thing: the housing and homelessness crises are one of Montreal’s biggest challenges.

Each promises action — from expanding affordable and transitional housing to taxing vacant units and speeding up construction — but their strategies differ.

Though funding social and affordable housing usually falls under Quebec’s jurisdiction, experts say Montreal can play a bigger role.

Home ownership feels out of reach for many, and the crisis mostly affects tenants, who make up about 60 per cent of Montrealers, says Renaud Goyer, a social policy professor at UQAM and member of the Collectif de Recherche et d’Action sur l’Habitat (CRACH).

• READ MORE: Montreal Political Party Platforms 2025

He says he doesn’t see major differences between what the five parties are promising.

Building more isn’t a magic solution

Across all levels of government, building more has become the go-to solution.

“And it isn’t working, right?” Goyer told CTV News, pointing to a study showing that most of Montreal’s vacant units are mainly new and expensive.

Expecting the market to stabilize itself, he added, is “wishful thinking.”

Instead, Goyer argues, the city should focus on taking existing units off the private market and converting them into public housing.

He also draws a key distinction: affordable housing is based on market value, while social housing is tied to a tenant’s income.

• READ MORE: New report shows more private homes won’t end Quebec’s housing crisis — it could make it worse

“It’s not only that we need to build affordable housing. We need a higher level of social housing units in the market to limit prices on other units, and that, I think, the city could do more,” he said.

Projet Montréal’s approach

Projet Montréal leader Luc Rabouin says that’s something the current administration is already doing.

Since 2018, Montreal has had the right of first refusal on certain properties, meaning it can buy them before developers. The city identified 10 strategic areas and put aside about $18 million to acquire targeted properties.

But the city can’t lease or manage buildings itself. It needs non-profit partners and government subsidies to get projects built. To fill that gap, Rabouin is promising a $100-million guarantee fund to help non-profits secure financing for affordable housing.

He says there are other levers the city can pull to help control rent prices.

“We can limit AirBnb, we don’t need the approval of Quebec or the federal government,” he told CTV News in an interview.

But he admits the city “absolutely need contributions from the provincial and the federal government” for social housing low-income tenants can truly afford.

All parties promise to find ways to reduce how much they need to rely on Quebec, like making better use of city property and speeding up construction. They all promise to reallocate city-owned land to non-profit organizations.

Goyer says it’s a good idea and that Montreal could lean more on its existing agencies, like the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) and the Société d’habitation de Montréal (SHDM), which have decades of experience managing social housing.

But, since the 1990s, that kind of construction has slowed. Quebec has not built any new HLM (low-income housing) since Ottawa transferred housing responsibilities to provinces.

• READ MORE: Montreal nurse stuck in social housing despite full-time job

Goyer says a funding boost could be just what the organizations need.

Debate around the 20-20-20 rule

One of the sharpest divides among the parties is over Montreal’s 20-20-20 bylaw, which requires large housing projects to include 20 per cent social housing, 20 per cent affordable housing, and 20 per cent family units.

Those who do not include social and affordable housing have to pay a fine, which almost every developer chose to do.

Every party except Projet Montréal wants to scrap the bylaw.

The city’s website shows only eight social housing projects were approved since 2021, when the rules went into effect. Montreal also collected $58 million in fines, which it says is put toward social and affordable housing.

Advocates say it proves the city can’t rely on private developers to build social and affordable housing.

Ensemble Montréal and Action Montréal argue the rule has slowed development and discouraged builders. Ensemble wants to use money from private developers to fund social housing initiatives through incentive zoning.

Futur Montréal would introduce a levy on luxury housing to create a dedicated fund for non-profit affordable housing. The party also wants to explore fiscal incentives for homeowners who lower rents for students or create multi-unit or multi-generational housing.

Transition Montréal leader Craig Sauvé takes a harder stance, saying said he doesn’t want to give a cent of public money to private developers.

Rabouin defends keeping the 20-20-20 bylaw, saying it needs improvement, not elimination.

Goyer, however, says Rabouin’s promise is an admission of defeat for Projet Montréal, since it failed to yield the desired results.

• READ MORE: Homelessness taking centre stage in Montreal mayoral race

Sauvé wants to increase taxes on homes worth more than $3.5 million to reinvest in affordable housing and homelessness prevention and put $10 million aside for a rent support program.

He also wants to create a new para-municipal organization called Bâtir Montréal to build off-market housing — a mandate Goyer says already exists within the SHDM and could be better used.

What is ‘off-market housing’?

Several parties have embraced “off-market housing” — non-profit or co-op units kept out of the private market — to boost affordability.

But housing advocacy group FRAPRU says that’s not enough and slammed all parties for not including clear targets.

“Even if these housing units are not-for-profit, with no commitment to make them social, community-based, and accessible to low- and moderate-income tenants, rents may be too high for many when they are delivered,” said spokesperson Catherine Lussier.

Rabouin counters that while off-market units might not be immediately affordable to lower-income tenants, they remain under rent control and become cheaper over time. They can also help the middle class, who are increasingly housing insecure, he said.

Quebec allows landlords to raise rents freely during the first five years after construction, but the city and province can impose rent control measures as conditions for subsidies.

Adam Mongrain of the sustainable development advocacy organization Vivre en Ville agrees off-market housing helps — but says new construction alone will never solve affordability.

• READ MORE: Montreal’s vacancy rate is going up, but so is rent

“It’s the worst for affordable housing because it’s the only time you have to pay your construction costs,” he said.

“Real estate stock, after 20 years, has generally paid off its construction costs … Houses that were built 40 or 50 years ago shouldn’t be worth $1 million. But one way we could lower their price is by increasing property taxes.”

But, he adds, that isn’t winning anyone the election.

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What about skyrocketing rents?

Protecting existing rental units is another major battleground.

Rent in Montreal almost doubled in six years, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)’s data.

The average rent for a two-bedroom purpose-built rental unit is now $1,176 and the average rent for a two-bedroom condo is $1,724. In 2018, the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Montréal was $809.

Quebec’s housing tribunal (TAL) recommended an average 5.9 per cent increase this year – the highest in three decades.

And Quebec’s new rent hike formula proposals don’t seek to alleviate that.

• READ MORE: Quebec housing groups worry about new plans for how rent increases are calculated

Sauvé wants a city-run rental registry and a total ban on short-term rentals like Airbnb, saying they are nearly impossible to regulate.

Vivre en Ville already created a rental registry that is meant to be owned and operated by a government. Mongrain says the city could take it over if they could commit to making it universal, but has yet to do so.

Ensemble Montréal’s housing lead, Sylvain Gariépy, argues a registry would create too much bureaucracy and should be handled by the province.

Ensemble wants to limit short-term rentals to primary residences and cap them at 90 days a year and invest in more inspectors to make sure the rules are properly implemented.

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Projet Montréal would keep its current rule allowing rentals in primary homes only during summer, which went into effect in September.

Cutting red tape

Even with funding, getting housing built in Montreal is often a slow process.

Mongrain says that’s because municipal rules prioritize aesthetics and uniformity over affordability.

“Social housing projects are also held back by conflicting formal requirements from funding programs and municipal regulations. Almost no project manages to get the green light in its initial form, and redesigns are slow and costly,” he said.

He believes the city should simplify approval processes rather than just throw money at non-profits.

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Rabouin has pledged to make the 20-20-20 rule “more predictable” and speed up permitting for developers.

Missing a cohesive vision

Some experts agree that while every party talks about affordability, none present a clear, long-term or well-rounded vision for how to achieve it.

With a provincial election just a year away, whomever ends up with the keys to City Hall will need to push hard for help from Quebec, and fast.

Goyer warns that without more public and social housing, rent and home prices aren’t going to stabilize themselves.