3 Liberal Priorities to Solve the Housing Crisis
The Quebec Liberal Party in solution mode
To mitigate the housing crisis in all of Quebec’s regions, the Quebec Liberal Party is presenting a series of proposals so that François Legault’s CAQ government can take action in the short term on three aspects of the current crisis: access to affordable housing, access to property and access to social housing.
The Liberal opposition is asking the CAQ government to acknowledge the current crisis and implement the following proposals:
Decent, affordable housing
Requiring more transparency from property owners when they advertise for a rental unit as regards the rent paid by the previous tenant by requiring that owners fill out section G of the rental agreement and providing for a penalty in the case of non-compliance;
Supporting owners of small rental buildings to encourage renovation work through a tax credit;
Encouraging the creation of affordable housing outside of the Montreal and Quebec City metropolitan areas through a tax credit that will directly compensate municipalities;
Taxing unoccupied property that is owned by non-residents so that they return to the rental market.
Assistance for families to purchase a property
Doubling the tax credit for purchasing a first home to, among others, encourage upstream inspections
Modernizing the Régime d’Accès à la Propriété (RAP) by increasing the admissible amount to $50,000 and by making it accessible to parents who want to help their child acquire a property;
Implementing a policy to govern purchase/resale operations to limit overbidding on renovated properties that have not been lived in.
More social housing
Doubling the number of new social housing units anticipated this year;
Tabling a 5-year deployment plan to ensure greater predictability for all of the regions.
“We are making a series of constructive proposals, some of which are applicable in the short term. All regions are experiencing the backlash of the overheated real-estate market and the increase in rental prices. Now it is up to François Legault to accept our outreached hand and take action.
Think of the families, the single parents, seniors, students and people with low incomes who see July 1st approaching and wonder whether they will have a roof over their heads. Human tragedies are unfolding, it’s our duty to avoid them. Let’s take action to ensure that everyone has a decent, affordable roof in a modern, sustainable and inclusive Quebec.”
- Dominique Anglade, Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and Critic responsible for the Charter for Regions
“We cannot continue to experience a 1st of July, year after year, that is as hard as 2021 is expected to be. On the human level it is unthinkable. We cannot manage housing on a day-to-day basis any longer; we must endow Quebec with a long-term vision, a sustainable vision which affects all aspects of the crisis and all of Quebec’s regions. That is why we are presenting the CAQ government with these constructive proposals today.”
- Marie-Claude Nichols, Liberal Critic for Housing and Municipal Affairs