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Quebec moving day could see record number of tenants without somewhere to live

Jul 1, 2022 | 4:10 PM

MONTREAL — A Quebec housing advocacy group says it’s worried there will be a record number of households left without somewhere to live as the majority of leases in the province expire.

The Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain says it is aware of 750 renter households that had not found somewhere to live as of June 30. 

Véronique Laflamme, the group’s spokeswoman, says that’s an increase from 420 households that found themselves in the same situation last year. 

The City of Montreal says it is helping 107 households that have not found permanent places to live.

Laflamme says the number of people who haven’t found somewhere to live is a sign of a larger housing crisis in Quebec and that many more people are living in substandard housing or in apartments that are too small. 

While the start date of residential leases is no longer fixed, the far majority  start July 1, the legacy of laws dating back to the 1700s. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2022.

The Canadian Press