{"id":701458,"date":"2026-05-29T11:43:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/701458\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:43:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:43:26","slug":"as-governments-pour-billions-into-new-affordable-housing-existing-units-in-disrepair-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/701458\/","title":{"rendered":"As governments pour billions into new affordable housing, existing units in disrepair – Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mercedes Rodriguez says she and her seven kids struggle to sleep at night because of the sounds of mice scurrying in the walls in her apartment in Montreal\u2019s east end.<\/p>\n

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In addition to a mice infestation, her social housing building in the city\u2019s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district is also plagued by mould, she said. Her\u00a0clothes dryer once caught fire because of poor ventilation in the bathroom.<\/p>\n

The single mother is impatient for long-promised renovations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating, really,\u201d she said with a sigh while giving a tour of her apartment and pointing to various holes in her walls and ceilings she said were caused by mice, water damage and the fire in her bathroom.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0Quebec\u00a0and Canada make multibillion-dollar investments into new builds to address the lack of affordable housing, one-third \u2014 nearly 21,500 units \u2014 of the province\u2019s existing social housing stock is in disrepair. The pace of renovations, meanwhile, isn\u2019t keeping up with inflation, leaving advocates concerned that maintenance budgets will be inadequate to address the extent of the issue.<\/p>\n

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Social housing in\u00a0Quebec\u00a0is owned by the provincial government and typically run by municipal organizations. It\u2019s designed for low-income residents, whose rent is fixed at 25 per cent of the household\u2019s income.<\/p>\n

In Rodriguez\u2019s apartment, her mother, who has terminal cancer, sleeps in a hospital bed in the living room while she and her seven kids occupy the apartment\u2019s five bedrooms. Rodriguez makes do taking up contracts as a security guard.<\/p>\n

Finding another five-bedroom home in her budget would be impossible, she says, with rents for similar units averaging more than $3,500 per month on the open market. And while Rodriguez has happily lived in social housing for more than 20 years, the state of her unit makes her fear for her family\u2019s health.<\/p>\n

She paid for a fresh coat of paint out of pocket. To prevent cockroaches and other insects from entering her unit, she had installed ceramic tiles on the kitchen floor and the backsplash. It\u2019s too much of a hassle to deal with the city, she said, saying they are too slow to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many problems,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been over two years of this now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Built in 1972, Rodriguez\u2019s social housing complex, which spans three streets and includes 192 units in low-rise apartment buildings, is called Habitations La P\u00e9pini\u00e8re and is slated for renovations, but she does not know when work will start in her unit.<\/p>\n

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The Canadian Press met with five tenants and visited three buildings in the complex.<\/p>\n

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Large strips of paint are peeling off the walls. Mice droppings collect on the windowsills. Tenants say the black-coloured specks and patches on their ceilings and walls are mould.<\/p>\n

In 2019, tenants received a flyer \u2014 seen by The Canadian Press \u2014 from the city\u2019s housing agency warning that an inspector had found mould in bathrooms, exterior walls and common areas of the buildings, such as laundry rooms and storage areas. And despite the fact the flyer said mould can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, sinus problems and bronchitis, it told residents that the inspection found \u201cnothing alarming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Data shows\u00a0Quebec\u00a0has increased investments to renovate social housing units in poor condition in the last three years, but progress is slow. A third of the stock still needs heavy repairs, and advocates say Quebec\u2019s budget likely won\u2019t cover all expenses because construction and renovation costs keep climbing.<\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s social housing network used to be administered and funded by the federal government, but Ottawa started transferring its responsibility to provinces in the 1980s. Ottawa has continued to provide some funding for upkeep through long-term agreements, many of which will expire by 2028.<\/p>\n

Patricia Viannay has been fighting for tenants\u2019 rights for two decades and works as the co-ordinator of the federation representing Quebec\u2019s social housing tenants. She wants the funding agreements with Ottawa extended.<\/p>\n

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Quebec\u2019s housing authority says it is confident it has the funds to cover the $1.079 billion in renovations it says is\u00a0needed to bring all units up to code, but Viannay worries inflation will outpace investments. She also worries that over the coming years, units considered to be in good condition will deteriorate and there won\u2019t be any money left in maintenance budgets.<\/p>\n

The province says more than $1.3 billion of the $3.6 billion set aside by both\u00a0Quebec\u00a0and Canada to repair social housing by 2028 has so far been allocated or spent.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Quebec\u00a0housing authority said the government is aware of the serious need to fix up its social housing stock. A spokesperson said inflation has been a challenge and that the government has to prioritize certain renovations to \u201cmaximize\u201d funding.<\/p>\n

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Back at La P\u00e9pini\u00e8re complex, the windows\u00a0of an apartment are boarded up while remnants of burned glass litter the front yard. Tenants say the unit caught fire in April and the smell of smoke lingered in the halls for weeks.<\/p>\n

A few doors over from Rodriguez, Sophie Racine says she is frustrated with the state of her temporary apartment. She moved out of her regular unit six years ago because it had mould. In her temporary home, the floors are cracked and she says mice are a problem.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s still waiting for a renovated unit for her 21-year-old son and herself. \u201cIt never ends,\u201d Racine said.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\"\"\/Veronique Perron, from left, Richard Marchand and Sophie Racine pose outside their homes in Montreal, on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The building is part of a social housing complex. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Graham Hughes<\/p>\n

Montreal\u2019s housing office, which runs Habitations La P\u00e9pini\u00e8re, says it has invested close to $10 million in the housing complex since 2009. It says the first phase of investments, which are ongoing, will cost $28.7 million, and that the second phase of renovations \u2014 scheduled to take place between 2007 and 2009 \u2014 will total close to $100 million.<\/p>\n

The office says is has not received a call flagging issues with mice since February 2025 and that an inspection is scheduled in the fall. It adds that some of the black specks in the buildings are not necessarily mould but could be accumulated dust.<\/p>\n

Viannay says the poor living conditions in some social housing complexes like La P\u00e9pini\u00e8re deeply affect tenants\u2019 well-being and dignity. \u201cYou don\u2019t feel like anyone\u2019s looking after where you live,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are people who don\u2019t dare to invite friends over anymore because of the state of their unit.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her organization is pushing for new social housing units to be built, saying public housing is the only way to restore balance and affordability in the market.<\/p>\n

In 2023, the governing Coalition Avenir\u00a0Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0axed its social housing program, Acc\u00e8sLogis. In its place, it launched a program to help private developers and non-profit organizations build so-called affordable housing \u2014 units that are sold or leased below market price. The CAQ also invested in rent subsidies allowing tenants to pay 25 per cent of their income in non-profit and private housing.<\/p>\n

While social housing advocates like Viannay criticize the new approach, Quebec\u2019s housing society says these programs have \u201cthe same goal\u201d as traditional social housing by allowing households to pay rent that is within their means.<\/p>\n

More than 30,000 Quebecers are waiting for a social housing unit; in Montreal, the average wait time is five years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mercedes Rodriguez says she and her seven kids struggle to sleep at night because of the sounds of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[27174,49,48,295,4520,714,968,66],"class_list":["post-701458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-affordable-housing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-housing","tag-politics","tag-real-estate","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}