New money for housing

Quebec Minister Laforest announces $250 million to expand community housing

Sophie Demers

 

Lower income families and residents may feel some relief in their search for affordable accommodations after an announcement for an investment in affordable housing for Outaouais.

Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, announced more than $250 million will be allocated to improve and increase affordable housing in Quebec. The funds were accumulated through Fonds québécois de l’habitation communautaire (FQHC).The money will be used to develop and maintain non-profit and community housing through Société d’Habitation Quebec's (SHQ) programs.

According to the Canadian Rental Housing Index in Gatineau the lowest income groups spend 59% of their income on housing and utilities. They indicate that housing is considered affordable if a household spends less than 30% of its income on rent and utilities. Single women with children are those most often spending 30% of their income on housing followed by single men with children.

Organizations that are eligible to benefit from the renovation program are encouraged to apply.

In Quebec, across all regions, there are 923 housing projects currently eligible for funding under the Community Building Preservation Program and will be eligible for upgrades and renovations.There are 52 eligible projects located in the Outaouais region.

According to Ligne des Droits et Liberté (LDL), the Covid-19 pandemic has had negative consequences for vulnerable populations in Gatineau. The pandemic complicated the search for apartments, contributed to the financial instability of certain households and put individuals and families without a fixed living situation in an even more precarious situation. In 2016, the average income of tenants renting was $39,189 versus $92,219 for homeowners.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the average rent for a two-bedroom unit in Gatineau was $874 per month. However, a survey done by the Regroupement des Comités Logement et Associations de Locataires du Québec reveals a 30% gap in Quebec between the rents available for tenants and CMHC average rent.

In June 2020, a decision was passed making it possible to officially announce the plans for the $250 million dollar investment. The planning has been 20 years in the making, as associations struggled to meet the growing affordable housing needs of the community. FQHC was supposed to receive and distribute contributions from all organizations that own built and subsidized housing through the AccèsLogis Québec, Logement abordable Québec – Social et communautaire and Achat-Québec programs for the development of co-op and non-profit housing.

However, an agreement between all parties on the use of funds collected was not attained for many years. Because of this impasse, a co-management committee composed of representatives of the Réseau québécois des OSBL d'habitation (RQOH), the Confédération québécoise des coopératives d'habitation (CQCH), the Regroupement des offices d'habitation du Québec (ROHQ) and the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ), was created to manage the funds.



Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Minister responsible for the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region says that these funds will help thousands of families benefit from this affordable housing and improve their quality of life and their communities.

The SHQ’s mandate is to meet the housing needs of Quebec residents by providing affordable and low-cost housing, and a range of programs that assist and promote residential construction and renovation, home adaptation, and home ownership.