Montreal is losing ground on the social housing front, argues Joe Rullier
If you live in Montreal and followed November’s municipal election, chances are you’ve heard a lot of talk about our social housing deficit.
And every time it hits the news, advocates of traditional models denounce the problem but we have not heard much about solutions. Lamentable as this may be, rarely is the “why” of it all ever discussed. Why can’t Montreal get on top of its social housing deficit? Why does the city constantly fall short of its housing targets?
The answer is never simple and involves a confluence of factors that remain unresolved: zoning, the high cost of construction and an unwillingness to #BuildUpMTL are all on top of the list.
Not Exactly In The Zone
It’s the million dollar question: why is Montreal so far behind other Canadian cities in achieving social housing benchmarks? In 2021, the City delivered just over half of a promised 6,000 social housing units. That’s not nearly enough.
“You have Vancouver leading the charge,” said Joe Rullier, vice-president with Colliers International — Private Capital Markets Division. “Toronto is doing a good job. So then why is Montreal purposefully leaving itself behind by not being more open to change? Why is something straightforward like rezoning such an obstacle to progress?”
The process, he added, makes developers want to walk away from good projects that will ultimately help low-income Montrealers. Yet even in a red-hot housing, municipal and provincial leaders cannot seem to find their footing to make the most of these favourable conditions.
“It’s frustrating because we’re in the right zone to start getting some traction and we’re not being proactive,” said Rullier. “We’re sitting back when the time to be productive is now. We haven’t seen this level of activity in Montreal for years, maybe ever. And we still have momentum. But it won’t last forever, which is why we need policies that are attractive for everybody: the City gets its social housing and developers are making money. Everybody’s happy and we all grow together.”
Incentivizing Success
The pandemic only complicates an already tenuous situation. The cost of construction is higher than ever before, and developers are not incentivized to build social housing under the current policy structure. If we are to “reboot” social housing in Montreal, there must be a win-win strategy in place.
It also bears mentioning that developers are busier than they’ve ever been thanks to the aforementioned boom. In such a market, what motivation will most have to take on social housing projects?
“Right now, the problem in terms of social housing and why nobody is building these units is because the cost of construction exceeds what they can rent or sell,” continued Rullier. “There needs to be a tax break or, failing that, higher density permissions. I’ve brokered multimillion dollar deals and believe me when I say that numbers need to add up. No one wants a social housing deficit but when you boil it down to cost-versus-revenue the risk is simply too high.”
Think Big, Build Up
Rullier, a vocal proponent of “building up,” argues that the current density limitations are not working and that high-density projects are the solution to growing Montreal’s skyline while hitting social housing targets.
“Why force developers to be less ambitious?” asked Rullier. “By allowing more flexibility on density, height and zoning, it would result in a net gain for all stakeholders.”
Rezoning, incentivizing developers and making property taxes more manageable would be positive measures to make sure Montreal takes advantage of the real estate boom, before it cools.
“We need to get our act together now,” concluded Rullier. “Not only in terms of rezoning, but also cutting out all the unnecessary red tape that makes it less attractive to build here. Montreal has a lot going for it, and we cannot afford to take this precious equity for granted.”