As reported on CTV News, real estate developers will soon have to create or fund social and affordable housing if they want to build in Montreal.
Projet Montreal passed a new housing bylaw Wednesday, following through on a campaign promise to give Montrealers more affordable housing.
“When I envision Montreal 10 years, 20 years, 50 years from now, what I hope to see are diverse neighbourhoods where everyone belongs, no matter their financial status,” said Mayor Valerie Plante.
The new bylaw aims to regulate the real estate market and improve upon its current vacancy rate of 1.9 per cent, the lowest in years.
Contractors would have to enter into an agreement with the city to build affordable and social housing units, family housing units, give land to the city or make a financial contribution.
“On a big project for example in downtown Montreal, it’s going to be more interesting financially for them to give us the land so we can develop social and affordable housing,” said Plante.
The number of units required to be social, affordable or family will depend on how many are being built overall and where.
For example, for a building with 50 or more units downtown, a contractor would have to build:
“If we want to have skilled labour and we want to have artists and we want to have students, affordability is super important,” said city councillor Craig Sauve.
The city expects condo prices to rise by 2 to 4 per cent because of the bylaw, a concern for the Quebec Association of Construction and Housing Professionals (APCHQ).
Keep reading and watch the video on CTV News
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