15% of Montreal tenants experienced bout of homelessness, survey shows

About 15 per cent of all tenants in Montreal experienced homelessness at some point, a new Léger survey shows.

Just last year, that number was about 10 per cent, according to a report by non-profit organization Vivre en Ville and the city.

Léger exclusively polled tenants and excluded people currently experiencing homelessness.

"The figures were dramatic last year, but now we're seeing just how bad it's getting. And without these studies, well, we wouldn't be seeing it," said Adam Mongrain, housing director for Vivre en Ville.

"Among other things, we can see that the number of people reporting homelessness, at least in the city of Montreal, has risen by 50 per cent. So it's gone from 10 per cent to 15 per cent. It's completely crazy."

As for rent prices, 30 per cent of tenants surveyed said they pay between $750 and $999 monthly, and 28 per cent pay rents of $1250 or more. The number of those paying between $500 and $799 in rent decreased between 2023 and 2024.

Mongrain is concerned that those people may have housing problems, whether it's spending too much of their income on housing, or experiencing a period of homelessness. He says the government isn't doing enough to alleviate the issue.

"The measures we'll have to deploy to help these people find housing or rehousing will never be enough if we don't tackle the problem at source," he said.

Turning to the TAL

Tenants are also largely unaware of their rights when it comes to housing, the survey showed.

About 11 per cent of respondents have turned to the provincial housing board (TAL) to contest a rent increase (up from eight per cent in 2023), of which seven per cent won their case.

Meanwhile, 84 per cent of respondents weren't aware that their landlord has to disclose the lowest rent paid in the last 12 months on their lease under Clause G — and only one in five respondents said the section was properly filled out by their landlord.

Montgrain says the survey is showing that "people are giving up" on the idea of being homeowners, as only 18 per cent of those surveyed believe they will be able to afford to buy a house in the next five years, down from 23 per cent in 2023.

"The housing crisis is hitting everyone. This second study shows that rental housing is becoming less and less affordable," said Robert Beaudry, the city's executive committee member responsible for housing, in a news release.

"The facts are clear: tenants are paying more and more for rent, they are resorting more and more to TAL, and they simply don't have access to all the information to which they are entitled."

He says he wants the provincial government to set up a rent registry, as advocated for by many housing groups and Vivre en Ville, to equip tenants with the necessary information to make sure their rent increases are reasonable.

The survey was conducted among 5,551 tenants in Quebec, including 1,579 in Montreal, between May 8 and 31.

It is not possible to calculate a margin of error from a sample drawn from a panel, but a similar sample of 1,579 respondents would give a margin of error of 2.46 per cent 19 times out of 20, says Léger.