When will landlords and speculators answer for their role in the housing and affordability crisis?

When will landlords and speculators answer for their role in the housing and affordability crisis?

The free market no longer works as it should when it comes to housing.

At the end of the day, landlords would rather have an apartment sit empty than give someone a break. It’s wrong, and something needs to be done to end radical and unethical rent increases — starting with regulating short-term rentals.

The proliferation of Airbnb has only exacerbated the housing crisis. For over a decade, developers haven’t been building homes people want to live in. The vast majority of new condo units in major cities like Montreal are either studios or one-bedrooms, intended primarily for speculators to buy up and convert into short-term rentals that will eventually be used solely for Airbnb.

As so many new developments are being used as short-term rental properties, an artificial scarcity has kept prices high.

As noted previously by Taylor C. Noakes, “Airbnb has a profoundly negative impact on quality of life, and is a major contributing factor to the housing crisis here and elsewhere.”

Earlier this year, the Quebec rental board recommended a record-high 5.9% rent increase — triple the rate of inflation. While landlords are quick to cite property taxes as the reason for their price gouging, it’s worth noting that Montreal property taxes have not increased past the rate of inflation since 2019.

The vast majority of Quebecers agree that corruption has contributed to the rising cost of housing in their community.

For years, average rents have increased above the rate of inflation, with landlords bypassing regulation with renoviction schemes and other legal loopholes. A report by Desjardins found that rents will increase more in Quebec this year than anywhere else in Canada.

10 years ago, Quebecers could easily find a place to live without spending more than 25% of their income on rent. Today, someone making minimum wage in Montreal would be lucky to spend 50%. That the rent-to-income ratio was allowed to get so out of hand is a perfect demonstration of the government’s failure in addressing the very basic needs of the population. This, quite frankly, is beyond unacceptable.

More social housing and stronger rent control measures are needed. There’s no reason why even someone making minimum wage should have to spend more than 25% to 30% of their income on rent. Essentials like housing need better protection from institutional greed.

When will landlords and speculators finally answer for their role in the housing and affordability crisis?

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