Tenants in Richelieu worried about sale of social housing for elderly

Elderly tenants in Richelieu say they're worried about the future of their affordable housing complex now that the building has been put up for sale. 

The Villa Belle Rivière provides housing to 60 tenants, and is currently operated as a non-profit housing organization (OSBL) that provides housing to those living on a low-income.

Calls for the province to step in and block the sale of the building have been growing since the board of directors managing it decided to put it up for sale. There was a protest outside the building on Sunday. 

"We need to make sure there are affordable apartments available for elderly people," said Sylvie Adam, one of the tenants there. "It needs to remain an OSBL."

Because of long wait times for those looking to secure this kind of housing, Adam had to wait two years before she could move in, and has only been living there for the last six months.

"Maybe for a few years [the new owner] will allow the affordable apartments to remain, but it's very likely they will get turned into condos within the next three or four years," she said.

In a letter given to residents in building, it is mentioned the real estate agency and promoter Gestion Fauvel inc. has the obligation to keep the current status of the building for the next five years.

The non-profit was founded in 1978 and is managed through a board of directors. For decades it has been relying on provincial subsidies, and it's worrying there are no protections in place to ensure it continues to be publicly owned, housing critic Andrés Fontecilla says. 

"We're living in a housing crisis," said Fontecilla, also the MNA for Laurier-Dorion. "We can't allow buildings that were financed through public money to fall into the hands of the private market."

Considering the urgent need for more affordable housing in the province, he says a moratorium urgently needs to be put in place to prevent any future sales of OSBLs. 

There are roughly 55,000 affordable units in the province's network of OSBLs, according to the Réseau québécois des organismes sans but lucratif d'habitation (RQOH), which represents the homes. 

The provincial housing group has called for 5,000 new social housing units annually.

Martin Bécotte is the director for the RQOH for Montérégie and Estrie regions, and says members of the Richelieu community are ready to create a new board of directors if that's what it takes to keep the apartment building's status as an OSBL.

"We want to show how important it is for the community that this residence remains here, and for it to remain affordable," he said. 

Diane Coté is one of the people ready to step up. Her grandfather was among those who founded the home. 

"These are apartments that were founded 44 years ago," she said. "It was [run by] people from the community that wanted to give to people that are less fortunate ... They wanted to offer them a place where they could feel secure and have a social life together."

Gestion Fauvel and the Villa Belle Rivière board of directors did not respond to requests for interviews.