The year-over-year apartment vacancy rate has fallen dramatically in Montreal in just the last month.
A new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the residential vacancy rate fell 1 per cent in October to 2.8 per cent, due in large part to growing numbers of immigrants who are coming to Montreal because of the economic upturn.
It's a drop not seen since the housing crisis of the early 2000s.
Arnold Bennett, the longtime housing activist who runs the Housing Hotline, points out that for many low-income families, the housing crisis never ended.
"Anytime the vacancy rate goes down, it makes it more difficult, but you've got to understand that for certain categories of the population, the housing crisis never went away," Bennett says. "If you're a family with kids and a low income, even these two-bedroom apartments are too small for you and the bigger ones are too expensive."
At the same time, the average rental rate increased by 2.2% to $766 per month, while the cost of a three-room apartment has gone up to $965.
Bennett points out that while rents have climbed over the years, incomes haven't.
"The rents are going up, but what people are able to pay has not gone up," he says. "There are many, many people who are paying half their incomes for rent."
Bennett says there's a pressing need for more low-cost housing in the city — both because there's a greater demand for housing, and because the existing housing stock is deteriorating badly, to the point where many poorly-maintained units have become unlivable.
The new city administration of Valerie Plante, along with the federal government, have committed to making low-cost housing a priority, though Bennett suggests it won't be easy to keep up with the growing demand.
"This is all to the good, but you're running on a treadmill, trying to catch up with something that's outpaced you a long time ago," Bennett says. "It's going to be very difficult."