Montreal rental homes abundant but too small, expensive

Montreal’s rental market is not suffering from the tight supply seen in some Canadian markets but the homes that are available are too small and too expensive according to housing advocacy FRAPRU.

The organization says that more than 1,400 new rental apartments hit the market in the first five months of this year, following new supply in 2015 that was 53 per cent above the 10-year average for the province’s construction.

“We could rejoice in the increase of rental housing available, but first, we have to ask who can go live in these new homes and at what price,” the group’s François Saillant told the Montreal Gazette.

FRAPRU says that some new developments have rents at more than double Montreal’s average rent according to CMHC figures. That makes them too expensive for an average renter while being too small for families, leading to homelessness despite the increased supply.
 

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