Montreal uses right to refusal to buy another rooming house in fight against housing crisis

In a move aimed at countering real estate speculation and addressing the growing demand for affordable housing, the City of Montreal has announced its plan to protect and acquire a rooming house located in the Sud-Ouest borough.

The Plante administration confirmed this decision in a news release Monday, revealing the transaction would cost the city nearly $1.4 million — the property's market value. 

The city made the purchase by using its right of first refusal, which grants the city priority to purchase certain buildings or land ahead of other buyers for community-oriented projects.

Once the purchase goes through, the building will be transferred to a non-profit organization or the city's housing corporation, the Société d'habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM).

The building currently has seven rooms, all of which are occupied.

Sud-Ouest borough mayor Benoît Dorais is also the executive committee member in charge of real estate strategy and housing. He said the need for affordable housing is critical in Montreal, as it is across Quebec.

"By acquiring the rooming house on Centre Street, we are ensuring the long-term preservation of its purpose and the affordability of its units," Dorais said. 

This acquisition marks the fifth rooming house purchased by Montreal since 2022. Under the right of first refusal, a total of 101 properties of this kind, spread across nine boroughs, could be acquired.

According to data compiled by Radio-Canada, approximately 350 property owners in Montreal have received official notices from the city since last year, informing them that their buildings or lands are subject to the right of first refusal.

These properties encompass a wide range of assets, including 5,700 housing units (such as rooming houses), along with various non-residential buildings, parking lots and vacant lands. The total assessed value of these properties amounts to $1.6 billion.

The boroughs of Ville-Marie, Côte-des-Neige and Sud-Ouest collectively account for 50 per cent of the properties subject to the right of first refusal for housing purposes.

Sam Watts, the CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, an emergency shelter and food bank, said the city's right to purchase allows organizations like his to match people with housing when they need it.

"It allows somebody the opportunity to leave a shelter or a situation where they are very precariously housed and be in a much more permanent situation where they can care for themselves," said Watts.

What the city is missing with the rooming house at this point in the process is an organization to take on its management and ensure the building is up to code, Watts explained.

He said he is open to discussion with the city to see if objectives for the building are a good fit with the Welcome Hall Mission.