Press review of late May

The last press review of the month focuses on the report "Proposal for a diversified, quality housing offer throughout the territory of Quebec" produced by the firm Aviseo Conseil at the request of CORPIQ. The report also discusses the rent registry that the organization Vivre en ville plans to set up.

By Corinne Laberge

Unveiling of the Aviseo study

This CORPIQ press release reviews the Future of the Rental Sector in Quebec event held on May 9, during which the Aviseo report was unveiled.

The presentations that took place during the afternoon are summarized. Among the guests who spoke were Jean-Pierre Lessard and Andréanne Gosselin, who were responsible for the study at Aviseo; Jean-Marc Fournier -Former Minister of Municipal Affairs and President & CEO, IDU; Guillaume Tremblay -Mayor of Mascouche; Claude Foster -President & CEO of the Société d'habitation du Québec; Line Beauchamp -Strategic advisor and former minister of the Quebec government; Luc Godbout -Professor at the University of Sherbrooke and Claude Chapdelaine -Founder and first president of the Régie du logement; Mario Polèse -Professor emeritus at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique; Maxime Rodrigue -President & Director General of the APCHQ; Julie Favreau -Lawyer, Director of Strategy and Real Estate -ESG Impact; and Rémy Trudel -Former Minister of Municipal Affairs and Professor at the École nationale d'administration publique (ENAP).

"All agree that the Aviseo report constitutes a solid base of facts to allow decision-makers to take action, or at least to take the necessary steps to get out of this housing crisis as quickly as possible. (...) In this sense, Aviseo recommends multiplying the efforts to increase the supply, and evaluates at least 130,000 housing units should be built over the next 10 years," they report.

This next CORPIQ press release discusses in detail the data from the study conducted by the firm specialized in economics and strategy. The objectives are first outlined: "1) to present a basis of scientific and objective facts to illustrate a portrait of supply and demand, 2) to identify the main challenges facing rental housing, and 3) to propose possible solutions to resolve the housing crisis and prevent it from repeating itself."

The content is then divided into four segments. In the first, "Portrait of renters: Quebec differs from the rest of Canada", we learn that "52% of renter households are made up of one person, an increase of 6% in 20 years. Combined with demographic growth, this increase has changed the portrait of the rental sector, causing availability to drop." It was also confirmed that housing is less expensive in Quebec than in the rest of the country. "Quebec tenant households allocate an average of 18.1% of their gross income to housing, compared to 22.9% in the rest of Canada," the report states.

The second segment, "A growing rental stock, but under pressure," mentions the fact that, "Between 2012 and 2021, the growth of the primary rental housing stock reached 30%," but also that " It is the Montreal CMA that has experienced the strongest growth over the past 10 years, up 35%." Yet vacancy rates continue to decline. "Aviseo estimates that 16,300 rental units are needed to reach an equilibrium vacancy rate of 3% in the Quebec market by 2021," the press release reads. The economist and partner of Aviseo Conseil, Jean-Pierre Lessard, underlines that "The rental housing market is under pressure and the current supply does not correspond to the demand on the ground. All of this in a difficult economic climate with a lack of manpower and high interest rates. We are in for even more tense times if we are not able to meet the demand in the housing market and take care of existing housing." Thus, the report estimates that 130,000 housing units will need to be added during the 2021-2031 decade.

The subsequent theme is explicit, to say the least: "Rental Housing Issues: Modernizing Regulations and Easing Barriers to Rental Housing Construction." Among other things, it states that "the report invites reflection on municipal taxation in order to avoid penalizing the rental sector and density objectives."

Finally, in the fourth segment, "24 solutions to solve the housing supply crisis in Quebec", it is explained that the priority issues targeted in the study have been grouped into three axes: "1) dealing with the existing situation, 2) aiming for multiple solutions and 3) focusing on efficiency".

This report will certainly contribute to the reflection and discussions of the various housing partners. "The current situation is a call to action and our association takes note of the recommendations to ensure a follow-up with decision-makers. This document is now a reference," says Marc-André Plante, Director of Public Affairs at CORPIQ.  

He also intervenes in this article from The Canadian Press relayed by L'Actualité. Speaking about the administrative flexibility requested by CORPIQ, in terms of "soft density», Mr. Plante points out that "Densification is not necessarily to build 30-story buildings. It could be to allow a triplex in a neighborhood composed of single-family dwellings, or to develop a dwelling in the basement of a house or an accessory building."

Also available for consultation, the text "For an increased supply of housing" signed by Jean Sasseville in Les Affaires. "A 135-page report published Tuesday takes a rigorous look at the rental market that avoids clichés, both on landlords and tenants. (...) It is the most complete report to date on the issue of rental housing," writes the author.

CORPIQ reacts to Vivre en ville's rent registry project

In this press release issued on May 11, CORPIQ is adamant that the initiative of the organization Vivre en ville is "a very bad idea".

"In reaction to Thursday morning's announcement, CORPIQ contacted La Presse Canadienne to share its disapproval of the rent registry project," it reads. The director of public affairs, Marc-André Plante, maintains that "publishing the price of rents will have no positive effect on the housing crisis, because it will not increase the supply."

Moreover, "the publicization of rents could have a facilitating effect for the owners tempted by "renoviction" and, incidentally, on real estate speculation", he warns. He explains that, as a result, "it will be much easier and faster to identify buildings that have a potential for renovation and, therefore, a quick return on investment. In this case, it is the tenants who will lose out first."

The creation of a public rent registry involves several legal issues, "including whether the information recorded in it would be recognized by the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL)," the release said.  

It added that being able to assess the value of buildings puts landlords at a disadvantage in terms of negotiating power in a transaction. "We should ask ourselves if this registry would not contravene current laws regarding the free market and the competitiveness of private businesses," observes the director of public affairs at CORPIQ in conclusion.