a troubling 2,039 quebec households needed help post-moving day, frapru says

a total of 2,039 households across the province are receiving assistance following july 1 moving day, 140 more households than last year, housing rights group the front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (frapru) said friday.calling the situation troubling, the group pointed out the number is likely higher as it doesn't account for those who haven't been in contact with local services. as a growing number of quebecers grapple with the lack of affordable rental housing across the province, frapru is renewing its calls for universal rent control and the creation of more social housing.

“for us, this is really showing how deep the crisis is becoming," frapru community organizer catherine lussier said of the data for 2026. "we need systemic solutions to be able to work on this unaffordability of housing that we have seen increasing in the last years." lussier explained the living situations of the 2,039 households receiving assistance differ: some are still housed, but need to relocate in the coming days or weeks, while others have had to relocate temporarily. a total of 476 are staying in temporary accommodations arranged by their municipality, or with relatives, according to the société d'habitation du québec.on thursday, the city of montreal announced 71 households were temporarily staying in hotel rooms provided by the city's housing authority, which is twice as many as last year. thirty-five per cent of them were evicted because they couldn't pay their rent. the city also said it was helping another 219 households at risk of losing their homes.frapru pointed out rents have been increasing dramatically across quebec and salaries haven't kept up.the situation remains precarious despite the fact many units have been built and the provincial vacancy rate now stands at 2.7 per cent, which frapru spokesperson véronique laflamme described as "close to the historical level considered to represent a balanced housing market.""when we look at which units are actually available, they are concentrated in the higher rent brackets," she said. the group also said a signed lease doesn't necessarily mean a tenant has secured adequate and affordable housing. many sign for apartments they can't afford or don't meet their needs because they have no other options. others have had to accept rent increases they can't afford.laflamme said non-profit group observatoire québécois des inégalités quantified the cost of such situations this year, estimating the economic cost of housing unaffordability at $4.2 billion, including $2 billion in costs related to the effect it has on mental and physical health."more recently, we've also seen its consequences for intimate partner violence and for children's development," laflamme said. "it's important to remember that behind the households receiving assistance around july 1 are all those who continue to live in situations that are simply unacceptable."the group said the length of time tenants require assistance has been increasing: 13 per cent of 2,814 tenants currently receiving support from services across quebec (outside of just the context of moving day) haven't been able to secure stable housing since 2025."this is also showing the difficulties for tenants to find a place that is adequate for their needs, but also in (their price range)," lussier said.the group attributes skyrocketing rents to the high cost of new market-built rental housing, the lack of social housing and the lack of measures to curb exorbitant rent increases, particularly in between tenants.it criticized the coalition avenir québec's record on housing, accusing it of overhauling public policy at the expense of social housing through new labels like "affordable housing" and "non-market housing," which it says don't provide the same affordability as typical social housing.

in the short term, the group is asking the quebec government to launch a call for tenders for 1,000 affordable units announced in the latest budget and ensure that they be truly affordable.it plans to closely monitor the coming election campaign and encourage party leaders to commit to the following:

• the creation of at least 10,000 social housing units per year for 15 years;
• permanent government programs dedicated to social housing, which would include a public housing program and a program to acquire existing residential buildings left vacant;
• formal recognition of the right to adequate housing in quebec's charter of rights and freedoms and a provincial housing policy based on that right; and
• the implementation of universal rent control, including a government rent registry.

"if we don't start now, we won't get there," laflamme said. "the needs that the private market is failing to meet are growing larger and larger." quebec's municipal affairs and housing ministry did not respond to a request for comment on frapru's requests in time for publication.kthomas@postmedia.com