As the July 1 holiday approaches, and in response to the housing and affordability crisis, the Ville de Montréal is stepping up its relocation assistance services and facilitating access to existing resources to help people who are still looking for housing. To publicize its services, the city is launching an awareness campaign online, on social media and on several radio stations, broadcast in six languages, in addition to a poster campaign in local businesses and food security organizations.
Measures put in place as part of this vast operation and mobilization include relocation assistance services, as well as temporary lodging and storage. The city has once again mandated the Office municipal d'habitation de Montréal (OMHM), which, thanks to its referral service, will be able to support vulnerable households, whether they are looking for housing, offering accommodation or temporarily storing their personal belongings. The City's allocation for this service has been increased from $1.5 million in 2019 to $3.5 million in 2024, and this annual sum has been confirmed until at least 2025.
People looking for housing can also consult the housing search tool developed by the OMHM. It allows you to find available housing in Montreal, according to your budget and the number of rooms you're looking for.
Vivre en ville's Registre des loyers can also be useful for finding out average rental prices by sector. This digital tool, which lists rents for over 20,000 units in Montreal thanks to voluntary registration by the population, aims to inform tenants of real rent prices and protect them from abusive increases.
Year-round needs
The need for rehousing is growing and is present all year round, even if the most intense period remains the months of June and July, both in terms of requests for assistance and accommodation.
The OMHM received 176 requests for rehousing assistance between January 1 and April 23, 2024. Of these, 13 households required temporary accommodation. Since 2020, approximately 880 requests for rehousing assistance have been received per year, and over a hundred households have been accommodated, each year.
“The approach of July 1 is a particularly stressful time for tenants, more and more of whom are having difficulty finding housing options that meet their needs and budget. Once again this year, our administration will deploy additional measures to ensure that no one is left without housing on July 1, but this emergency assistance is not sustainable in the long term and serves as a reminder of the importance of continuing to accelerate construction and facilitate access to affordable housing with all our partners,” said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
“The needs are great and many. That's why we're organizing this multilingual campaign to reach out to people who need a helping hand to find housing, especially to help those individuals and families who are among the most vulnerable. If you know people in need, don't hesitate to refer them to existing services,” said Despina Sourias, associate councillor for housing, sanitation and protection of the rental housing stock on the Ville de Montréal executive committee.
For help or more information
Citizens who have questions or need help finding housing are invited to call 311 to obtain information and be referred to the appropriate resources.
For full details, visit montreal.ca.
