How Can Montrealers Aid the Housing Crisis?

Montreal’s housing market has been experiencing numerous changes.

Following the lowest vacancy rate the city has experienced in 15 years, vacancy has risen from the low of 1.5% to 2.7% Despite the recent spike in Montreal's vacancy rate, rents have been on the rise. Rents are now 4.2% greater than in 2019.

Census data from 2016 shows that 8.5% of Montrealers paid more than 80% of their income on housing. 

Another major threat to housing stability is the practice of "renovictions". This is when a landlord uses a renovation to evict their tenants, often driving the price of their property up for the next tenant.

So how can we combat these changes to remain affordable housing in the city of Montreal? Faiz Abhuani, real estate agent and founder of Brick by Brick, a community organization building social housing in the neighbourhood of Parc-Ex shares some tactics we can follow.

With years experience as a realtor, Faiz Abhuani has seen the rapid changes in Montreal's housing market, as well as how immigrants and BIPOC people are taken advantage of and more vulnerable in the housing crisis.

Abhuani is also the founder of Brick by Brick, a community organization that builds social housing for people in the neighbourhood of Parc-Extension.

To learn more on Montreal's housing crisis and how this interconnects with homelessness in the city, check out the latest episode of Local 514, where Abhuani and other guests breakdown what is causing these crises, what the government needs to do to provide aid, and how individuals can support this issue. 

Episode one of Local 514 is available here. 

The full interview with Faiz Abhuani is available here.