MOVING TO NOWHERE
Retiree caught in housing crisis
At age 73, Gilbert Bastien is preparing to retire this week. But instead of kicking his feet up and relaxing, the Montreal resident is scrambling to find a new apartment in which to live.
“Forget about living in the same area. The same price? It seems not. I have to be realistic,” said Bastien, who has lived since 2011 in a large 4½, with a terrace, by Lafontaine Park that costs $1,170 monthly.
“I’ve always been confident in my life. This is the first time I’m in such a precarious situation,” added Bastien, an executive director in the arts sector, but with a relatively small pension. “I’m calm and relaxed, but I have to find something.”
It was last September that Bastien first learned the owner of his unit was taking possession. In January, he went before the Régie du logement to contest. Following delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the decision against him was rendered June 8. But, with no advance notice, Bastien, who lives with a roommate and one cat,
was given an extension until July 20 to vacate.
“The first week, I was in shock. It’s not easy. The prices are very high,” said Bastien, who expects to be forced to pay an additional $400 or $500 monthly for a new residence.
If necessary, he has a sister with whom he can temporarily live. Or, he said, he might consider staying at a hotel if required, but that also will require him to place his belongings in storage.
Given his age, placing him in the high risk category of contracting COVID -19, Bastien’s been primarily confined to his home, loath to go in-person apartment hunting, relying instead on the Internet and housing search engines.
Bastien’s predicament is hardly unique, according to a tenants’ rights representative.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Véronique Laflamme, a spokesperson for Front d’action Populaire en Réaménagement Urbain (FRAPRU). “It’s a drama people are living right now.”
Eighty per cent of Quebec’s residential leases expire June 30, meaning between 80,000 and 100,000 Montreal residents will be expected to move come Wednesday. But the vacancy rate in the city of 1.5 per cent is the lowest it has been in 15 years, Laflamme said.
A survey between February and May conducted by Le Regroupement des comités logement et et associations de locataires du Québec found a major surge in prices. On average, tenants in the province can expect to pay $1,044 per month. That price increases to $1,294 for larger units. However, that translates to a difference of more than 30 per cent of what the average should be, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
In some Montreal boroughs, such as the Sud- Ouest and Verdun where the vacancy rate plummets to 0.3 per cent, the average rent is $1,411.
The health crisis led to a surge in unemployment and loss of income. Couple this with the fact more than 200,000 tenants put more than 50 per cent of their income towards rent, Laflamme said.
FRAPRU has called on Premier François Legault and his government to make the housing crisis a priority, demanding aid and a plan that would see ambitious investments in social housing.
Earlier this month, the government announced it was adding $21.5 million to its action plan to combat the housing crisis. While Montreal was seeking $5 million in emergency funding, it will receive much less.
“Unfortunately, we don’t feel the housing crisis is a priority for the Legault government,” Laflamme said. “There’s an urgent need, and the need will grow with the pandemic and the economic situation. It will deteriorate in the next month.”
Laflamme said more than 140 Montreal tenants have been unable to find new lodging with only days remaining.