Achi news desk-
Quebec’s housing minister acknowledged Wednesday that the province is in a housing crisis as she introduced a bill that would impose a three-year moratorium on certain types of evictions and increase protections for low-income renters age 65 and older.
France-Élaine Duranceau’s proposed legislation would prevent landlords from evicting tenants in order to subdivide, enlarge or change the use of a housing unit.
“Evacuation or the threat of eviction causes enormous stress, and we want to prevent as many Quebeckers as possible from finding themselves in this situation given the few alternatives available to them at the moment,” she said at a press conference.
“In a crisis context, losing housing can have huge consequences that can lead to homelessness, so we have to avoid that,” she added.
An owner will still be allowed to return a unit for a close family member.
The moratorium will last three years but will end early if the vacancy rate in all Quebec cities with more than 10,000 people reaches three percent. The vacancy rate was 1.5 percent in Montreal in January, according to data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Dornesau’s bill would also expand Quebec’s law against evictions of low-income seniors to cover people starting at age 65 instead of 70, and it would increase the income at which a person becomes eligible. The government estimates that approximately 24,000 households will be protected by this new measure.
The seniors eviction law is named after former Quebec Solidarity speaker Françoise David, and Dorceau on Wednesday acknowledged the leftist rival party’s contribution to expanding the legislation. Members of Solidaire Quebec have long pushed for steps in the bill, meeting with Duranceau several times to discuss the changes.
“We share the goal of protecting the most vulnerable people from the effects of the crisis and we’ve had a very good cooperation on this issue so far,” Dorensau said.
Wednesday’s announcement was a U-turn for the minister, who had previously come under fire for a housing bill that allowed landlords to reject lease transfers, a popular tool that tenants have used for years to limit rent increases. During detailed studies of this bill, Durance rejected proposals by opposition parties to increase protections for the elderly, insisting that her legislation includes enough measures to protect people of all ages from eviction.
Her change of heart, she said Wednesday, was due to the changing situation, including the “massive arrival of non-permanent residents” in the district. And she said she does not rule out further legislation to address the housing crisis as the situation develops.
There were mixed reactions to the announcement, ranging from praise from Solidaire Quebec to criticism from the Liberals. Christine Lavery, Quebec Solidarity, said the bill is a “revolution” in dealing with the housing crisis, noting that the ideas it contains originated in her party.
Réseau FADOQ, a group representing seniors, said the bill was a big step forward in protecting older renters, adding: “We see that political pressure is getting results.”
Liberal Party member Virginie Dufour called the bill a “lovely operation” that would do little to solve the housing shortage, but said her party would still support it.
That sentiment was echoed by a group representing apartment owners and building managers, who said the bill’s intentions are “laudable” but that it “will not help solve the widespread housing shortage, which continues to grow.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 22, 2024.
