With moving day days away, Montreal calls on tenants without housing to seek help

As July 1 approaches, nearly 300 families have asked the City of Montreal for help finding housing.

With moving day only five days away, the City of Montreal is urging tenants who have yet to find a suitable apartment to contact 311 for access to resources and assistance.

According to city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin, around 270 families are currently being assisted by the city through the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal’s (OMHM).

Sabourin added that the situation is comparable to last year, although the numbers are slightly higher, as the housing vacancy rate in Montreal remains low.

“There is a housing crisis. The city took steps to help residents by doubling the budget,” Sabourin said during a press conference on Thursday.

According to data from the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ), approximately 1,990 people across the province are currently receiving assistance from about 40 housing organizations.

The spokesperson emphasized that the budget has increased from $1.5 million to $3.5 million over the last six years.

“What we are asking is for people who haven’t found an apartment to contact us by calling 311. There is support for people in search for an apartment. There is temporary housing. We offer storage. We can assist people until their situation stabilizes,” he explained.

Sabourin said he was confident that there are enough resources and funding to help all Montrealers in need.

“No one will be without a roof come July 1,” the spokesperson said.

A recent Statistics Canada report shows that rent has increased by nearly 71 per cent since 2019, primarily affecting families and lower-income residents.

The average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $1,930 in the first quarter of 2025, up from $1,130 six years ago.

“Searching for an apartment is very difficult. The market is very tight. So If you can stay in your apartment you should stay,” Sabourin said.

However, Catherine Lussie, a coordinator with the Montreal-based housing advocate group FRAPRU (Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain), said the situation had worsened.

She said that, as of Thursday, 283 households were being supported by the OMHM.

“It’s definitely more then last year. Last year at the same time there were 268 household in the same situation. So, we see a little increase even though the vacancy rate has actually increased,” Lussie said in an interview.

Moreover, she said the Statistics Canada data comes as no surprise, given the lack of measures implemented since the start of the housing crisis in 2018.

“Nothing has been done to prevent rent increases that we are seeing right now,” she said.

The coordinator said she is worried about the situation as July 1 approaches, adding that some tenants will have to make difficult choices, such as temporarily staying with family, sleeping in their cars, or renting an apartment they cannot afford.

“You’ll see after that. They need support from food banks because they are at the limit of what they can pay, Lussie continued.

“Also, what we see more is how long it takes after July 1 to find housing. So the numbers keep increasing after July 1 of tenants needing those services. For some it might takes weeks or even months to find a place that they can call a home.”

With files from Matt Grillo and The Canadian Press