Landlords in Montreal say demand for rental housing has dipped sharply, leaving even well-located units sitting empty.
Many point to expensive new construction as a key reason vacancy rates are climbing for the first time in years.
“It’s an issue because we have new units coming in the market. But we have a decrease in the number of people wanting to get an apartment at this point in time,” said Martin Messier, the president of the Quebec Landlord’s Association.
“It’s really affecting landlords, they’re calling us saying, ‘What am I doing? What can I do?’ They have problems their mortgages, and it’s difficult to rent.”
Jonathan Dahan, an independent rental agent, says, “Usually, June, July would be really the hot, hot, hot season for renting apartments. This year it was the complete opposite. There was barely any demand.”
Nirmila, a landlord, says, “I find the new builds are often sort of like one, one and a half. So, like one bedroom in an office, and who really gets to live there? Maybe recent graduates or people who are single, but it doesn’t really accommodate families.”
Rental agents and advocates also say the slowdown in immigration in Quebec played a role.
“I usually have a lot of people telling me, I’m coming to Montreal or I just came to Montreal, I could have a co-signer, I could have a guarantor, I could pay in advance. But recently I haven’t,” said Dahan.
In a bid to attract more tenants, some property owners are getting creative, offering incentives that weren’t common until now.
“We’ve seen promoters offering up to three months free rent, usually a sign that it’s not easy,” said Messier.
But tenants’ rights advocates urge caution, warning that these seemingly attractive deals can come with hidden risks.
“So that’s a scam, right? Because after two, three months, then you’re stuck paying a rent that you can’t afford, and it doesn’t solve the problem,” said Amy Darwish, the coordinator of the Parc-Extension Action Committee.
They also note that while units are easier to find, affordability remains a challenge.
“I think there’s been this assumption that if you just expand the supply, that the rents will come down, and what we’re seeing is that’s obviously not the case. What that actually does is just flood the market with these units that are too small, that are too expensive, that nobody can afford, and they sit empty while tenants struggle to find a place to live,” said Darwish.
CityNews spoke to some renters who said that renting wasn’t easy.
“It’s very different from 10 years ago. Ten years ago, it was affordable and you had a good quality of life. Today, we’re still living in our small apartment with our two children because we’re not in a position to find anything else,” said Clementine Leduc, a renter.
Karen Hanna, another renter who’s lived downtown for years, says, “It’s almost as if the city gives it’s approval to raise the rent. And I’m hoping this year it doesn’t.”
Leslie Brocher, another renter, said, “Prices kept rising and at one point it became prohibitively expensive. And now, well, I don’t dare anymore. I would like to move, but I don’t dare do it because I would have had a very hard time finding something that works for me.”