Every developer has opted to pay Montreal instead of building affordable housing, under new bylaw

Two years after Valérie Plante's administration said a new housing bylaw would lead to the construction of 600 new social housing units per year, the city hasn't seen a single one.

The Bylaw for a Diverse Metropolis forces developers to include social, family and, in some places, affordable housing units to any new projects larger than 4,843 square feet.

If they don't, they must pay a fine or hand over land, buildings or individual units for the city to turn into affordable or social housing.

According to data released by Ensemble Montréal, the city's official opposition, and reviewed by CBC News, there have been 150 new projects by private developers, creating a total of 7,100 housing units, since the bylaw came into effect in April 2021.

None of the units have yet been made into affordable housing, with all the developers of those projects opting instead to give Montreal financial compensation. Only 550 units are big enough to be considered family housing. Five developers ceded a piece of property to the city instead of creating affordable housing.

The money from the fees paid by developers goes into either the city's affordable housing fund or its social housing fund. Those fees have so far amounted to a total of $24.5 million — not enough to develop a single social housing project, according to housing experts.

"These numbers are catastrophic," said Julien Hénault-Ratelle, city councillor for Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve with Ensemble Montréal.

"The housing affordability crisis in Montreal is getting worse month by month. We're seeing families all over Montreal who can't afford housing. It's going to take concrete actions, and fast."

The city of Montreal had promised in 2021 to release the two-year results of the bylaw by early 2023, but hasn't done so. Ensemble Montréal says it compiled the data itself, using the city's open data. It is calling for Plante's administration to disclose what it plans to do with the five new plots and $24.5 million.

Benoit Dorais, vice-chair of Montreal's executive committee and the member responsible for housing, said the two-year review would be ready this fall, despite being promised this spring.

The city stresses the bylaw isn't its only tool to make housing more affordable. It has also been acquiring land and buildings for housing projects, simplifying approval for real estate projects, and working with other partners, it said in a statement.

"The bylaw is a non-negotiable social contract we have with the population. It's a commitment to build our city and our neighbourhoods differently, where everyone has a place, regardless of their wallet," said Dorais.

Montreal housing groups say they are not surprised by the lack of co-operation from developers.

"If we wanted real policy that will fight gentrification.... we would have had a stricter rule from the get-go to force developers to cede property or include social housing," said Véronique Laflamme, a spokesperson for the housing advocacy organization the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU).