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montreal housing crisis

Here's What To Do If You Haven't Found A New Montreal Apartment By July 1​

As Montreal's traditional Moving Day — July 1 — closes in, there's a scent of cardboard and desperation in the air. If you're a Montrealer yet to secure a place to hang your hat, the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ) and its affiliates have mobilized an arsenal of resources to ensure no one is left stranded.

Local housing offices are extending their working hours through July 16, as the first line of defence to assist those at risk of being swept up in the housing crisis. The SHQ’s Emergency Rent Supplement and Municipal Grant Program is also ready to lend a hand to households that suddenly find themselves without a place to live.

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Montreal Rent Is So Bad Nearly 1 In 5 Are Going Broke To Pay It, A Study Says

The housing crisis in Montreal has reached new heights, according to a study co-authored by Centraide of Greater Montreal and Montreal's branch of the consulting firm McKinsey. Almost 360,000 households — nearly one in five — across Greater Montreal don't make enough money to cover both rent and other basic essentials.

"After their rent is paid, these households start the month already in the red," Centraide wrote in a recent press release. "The total annual deficit for these households is estimated to be $3.6 billion per year."

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montreal apartments for rent

Here's Which Popular Montreal Neighbourhoods Had The Cheapest Rent In 2022

So you don't want to spend $2,500 on a downtown studio with thin walls and no appliances. Okay, fair enough — it's time to look outside the inner-city bubble and take a chance on a beautiful place that doesn't cost 60% of your monthly income.

In a year so full of expenses — inflation, cost of living increases, you know the drill — finding the right neighbourhood for your budget has gotten more challenging for many. Thankfully, liv.rent's monthly Montreal rent reports help give us a sense of which areas of the city are cheaper, and which are... not.

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How Much You Need To Make To Afford Rent In Quebec

Ask any Montrealer and you'll soon learn that the housing market is in crisis. A new report released by the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), an organization that advocates for housing rights, confirms these anecdotes: housing in Quebec is a dire struggle, for some more than others.

In their 25-page report, FRAPRU notes that the vacancy rate should be 3% to consider the market "balanced," per the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The CMHC's 2022 report revealed that markets across Quebec fell well below this threshold. In Montreal, the sum reaches that 3% number, but Laval as well as other northern and southern municipalities have vacancy rates as low as 0.5%.

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rent montreal

Montreal Rent Is Going Up & Here's What You'll Pay In The Cheapest Neighbourhoods

In a world where the cheapest homes are often few and far between and Montreal's housing crisis has led tenants to unionize, finding cheap rent in Montreal is becoming increasingly challenging, even in the city's cheapest areas.

The neighbourhood with the lowest average rent is Ahuntsic-Cartierville, where an unfurnished one-bedroom goes for $1,297, according to the most recent report by aggregator Liv.rent.

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spca montreal

The Montreal SPCA Launched A Petition To Make It Illegal For Landlords To Ban Your Pets

It’s a doggone travesty — Montrealers are discarding their cats and dogs at shelters because there's not enough pet-friendly housing, according to the SPCA.

"It's a problem every year," said Sophie Gaillard, director of animal advocacy and legal affairs at the Montreal SPCA. "Near moving season, we're flooded with calls from people that are not able to find housing that allows them to keep their animals. They're basically asking for help."

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montreal election 2021

Here's Where The Mayoral Candidates Stand On Housing & Affordable Rent In Montreal

It's no secret that it's become harder than ever to find housing and affordable rent in Montreal recently. Many have called the housing situation in Montreal a crisis — and with a municipal election this weekend, it's important to know how each party hopes to solve it.

Here's where the mayoral candidates and their parties stand on housing and affordable rent in the city.

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apartments for rent montreal

A Painfully Hilarious Viral Tweet Warns That Montreal Is Becoming A French Toronto

A painfully hilarious viral tweet pokes fun at Montreal's increasingly costly rents and subtly warns of their dire cultural consequences.

The May 23 tweet by Montrealer Sam Donald compares the Montreal of 2021 to famously expensive Toronto — a city whose glitzy glass towers and lack of accessible cultural offerings (at least, according to Quebecers) are often the subject of anecdotal warnings by Montrealers worried about the fate of their city's vulnerable indie arts scene amid a rising cost of living.

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