Quebec to allow roommates in low-income housing

Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau at a press conference in Quebec City on 22 May 2024.(Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

The Quebec government has tabled a draft regulation to allow roommate situations in subsidized low-income housing (HLM).

Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau made the announcement on Wednesday morning, explaining that the government wants “more people to have access to low-income housing while ensuring that there are as few under-occupied units as possible.”

The draft regulation, published in the Gazette officielle du Québec, would amend the social housing regulation to allow roommate situations.

Many have been pushing the government to change its rules on sharing HLMs.

Currently, it is only permitted when a household includes a caregiver in housing intended for people aged 65 and over, and in housing intended for people with disabilities or needs that require special facilities.

In a news release, the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) said permitting shared accommodation in social housing “will allow for a better match between the composition of households and the types of housing available, while contributing to more efficient management of the housing stock.”

According to the SHQ, subsidized programs currently support more than 114,320 low-income households, with rent fixed at 25 per cent of their income.

Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Guillaume Cliche-Rivard has been pressing François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government on this issue since May.

In a press release, he welcomed Duranceau’s announcement, noting that “this change will make several hundred places available in social housing.”

“This is not going to solve the housing crisis, but I am glad that the CAQ has finally agreed to adopt this measure, which is cost-neutral,” he added.

He said he hopes the administration will be willing to study and implement other measures to alleviate the affordability crisis, like capping rent increases and ending blind bidding wars.

Now that the draft regulation has been pre-published in the Gazette officielle du Québec, it is subject to a 45-day public consultation period before adoption.

Provisions for domestic violence, disaster victims

The draft also suggests amendments for victims of conjugal violence, like replacing the notion of “victim of domestic violence” with “victim of family violence, including domestic violence.”

It will allow applicants for social housing to use a certificate issued by a centre for victims of crime to find a home.

Additionally, the government said it will extend the deadline for priority applications to social housing to 30 days following a disaster or having a dwelling declared unfit for habitation.

With files from The Canadian Press.