Thousands of Quebecers are searching for housing due to a rental market crisis
The traditional moving day revealed new challenges.
July 1st marked the traditional Moving Day in Quebec, but many residents faced significant challenges finding new housing. According to the Quebec Housing Corporation, about 1,300 households are still actively searching for housing on July 1st or in the coming weeks.
Véronique Laflamme, a representative of the Popular Action Front for Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU), described the situation as "very grim." She noted that vacancy rates across Quebec are below the 3% market equilibrium threshold. In Greater Montreal, this figure is only 1.5%, in Quebec City it's 0.9%, and in Gatineau it's 1.1%.
Although tenants are changing homes less frequently, the demand for moving assistance services has increased significantly. According to Laflamme, help services received about 9,200 calls this year. In response to the growing need, many municipalities have established new moving assistance services — their number in Quebec has exceeded forty.
"We're seeing that this doesn't start on July 1st and doesn't end in the days immediately after July 1st. Now people are in temporary housing situations for several days, several weeks," Laflamme explained.
Experts note that housing problems extend far beyond the single moving day. Many families are forced to stay in unsuitable conditions due to the lack of affordable housing on the market or its high cost. This can mean living in apartments that are too small or in housing that needs repairs.
FRAPRU plans to publish a report on July 4th about the number of people who had to seek temporary housing after July 1st. This document will help better assess the scale of the housing crisis in the province.
