The island of Montreal’s apartment vacancy rate dropped to 1.6 per cent in 2023, with neighbourhoods like Plateau-Mont-Royal plummeting to 0.6 per cent, according to the 2024 report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In parallel, the average rent price for a two-bedroom has increased by a record-high of[Read More…]
Tag: affordable housing
Quebec needs real housing solutions, not Bill 31
On Sept. 20, hearings about Bill 31 wrapped up in the National Assembly. The bill proposes a number of changes to current housing legislation, including altering eviction procedures and allowing landlords to prevent lease transfers. Since the bill’s tabling, housing group coalitions such as Regroupement des comités logement et associations[Read More…]
Meeting on affordable housing brings together students, unions, advocacy groups
Students and community organizers filed into the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Ballroom on March 21 to talk about the housing crisis in Montreal. The two-hour annual general meeting (AGM), held by the SSMU External Affairs (EA) office’s Affordable Student Housing Committee (ASHC), showcased booths from eight guest organizations[Read More…]
Converting office buildings is worth the gamble
If you’re a student in Montreal, you know how difficult it is to find affordable housing. According to the Association des Professionnels de la Construction et de l’Habitation du Québec (APCHQ), the vacancy rate has fallen below the three per cent equilibrium threshold, where supply and demand are equally matched.[Read More…]
Let’s stop waiting for social housing
Over the past three years, McGill students have stood at the forefront of the movement for affordable housing. From commissioning high-quality studies to participating in yearly discussions around tenants’ rights, McGillians clearly understand the critical role that access to quality, affordable housing plays in determining one’s ability to live safely[Read More…]
Addressing the reactionary fight for the unsheltered
On Jan. 6, Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced that an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew would be in effect from Jan. 9 until at least Feb. 8. When asked about exemptions for unsheltered Quebecers, Legault falsely claimed that there is enough room for the unhoused in Montreal’s shelter infrastructure,[Read More…]
SSMU hosts presentation on tenant rights and gentrification
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Affordable Student Housing Committee hosted a presentation on Jan. 12 called “How to not get screwed over by your landlord.” Student speakers Julianna Duholke, 3L Law, Alex Apostolidis, U3 BFA, and Andrew Faber, second-year M.U.P., called on their peers to know their rights[Read More…]
SSMU plans for affordable student housing enters consultation phase
Since 2015, the partnership between the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and L’Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE) has worked to maintain affordable rent and educated students on real-estate practices and tenants’ rights. A 2018 report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows that Montreal’s[Read More…]
SSMU Legislative Council addresses affordable housing with new committee
The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) fourth Legislative Council meeting of the year saw the long-awaited creation of an Affordable Student Housing Committee, first proposed in February 2019. The motion to create the project in collaboration with the nonprofit housing organization Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant[Read More…]
UTILE proposes an affordable student housing project for McGill
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) is in the preliminary stages of constructing residential spaces in collaboration with Unité de travail pour l’implantation de logement étudiant (UTILE), a non-profit organization that works toward establishing affordable housing for students in Québec. UTILE was founded in 2012 in an attempt to[Read More…]