Expert: Montreal braces for Moving Day amid housing crisis

The rental market has continued to tighten over the past year in Greater Montreal. After declining from 3% in 2021 to 2% in 2022, the overall vacancy rate was 1.5% in 2023—one of the lowest rates seen in 20 years. (CMHC 2024 Rental Market Report). The shortage is in sharp focus around July 1, Moving Day, as many tenants search for affordable options amid a national housing crisis.

Here is an expert from McGill University who can comment on this issue:

Jayne Malenfant, Assistant Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education

“Montreal is increasingly feeling the crunch of the national housing crisis. Despite national commitments to housing rights, Quebec is seeing cuts to tenant protections, decreasing vacancy rates, and rising housing costs. Options for those losing housing this Moving Day are extremely limited. A recent National Housing Council report highlights how the financialization of housing is pushing more people into precarity and homelessness.”

Jayne Malenfant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Their work sits at the intersection of the right to housing and the right to education, as well as building community-led and equitable action for housing justice and homelessness prevention.

jayne.malenfant [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)