MONTREAL — A Montreal-based tenants’ rights group is leading a demonstration this afternoon in the city’s Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood to protest a housing shortage, which it blames partly on the condo boom, real estate speculation and short-term rentals spearheaded by Airbnb. FRAPRU spokeswoman Veronique Laflamme says it’s Montreal’s worst housing shortage in 14 years, adding that since January, 161 households in the metropolitan area have used housing assistance services set up by the Montreal Municipal Housing Office. Municipal Affairs Minister Andree Laforest said last month that the housing situation in Quebec is currently well-controlled, with vacancy rates incomparable to those from the 2000s. Laflamme says the minister does not grasp the seriousness of the situation in Montreal and Gatineau, dubbing it a housing crisis. FRAPRU says about 87,000 households in Montreal spend more than half their income on their rent.

Source: National Post June 15, 2019 14:37 UTC