Montrealers are facing major challenges when it comes to accessing low-income housing, including significant delays before moving in and homes that are in ”poor or very poor condition,” according to a report from the city’s auditor general.
At the end of 2022, more than 23 000 applicants — many of whom have children — were waiting for low-income housing, according to Andrée Cossette, whose report was made public on Tuesday.
Her report pointed out that the time it took for those people to find a home was about six years, a delay “clearly exceeding the targets” of the OMHM. The office had more than 2,408 vacant housing units as of March 2023.
Cossette wrote that requests for low-income housing were not properly managed, which had a snowball effect on the way the office allocates homes to people. In some cases, she said, it looked like the priority list was not respected.
The report also highlighted the ”deterioration” of those low-income housing units.
As of last November, 61 per cent of them were in “poor or very poor condition,” Cossette wrote.
Over a two-year period, fewer than 5,000 inspections were carried out — a third of the OHMH’s target.
The auditor general wants the housing agency to do a better job of inspecting homes, to make sure they abide by the norms of the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ).
The auditor general’s report also put Montreal’s public consultation office under its microscope.
The Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) fell under scrutiny when records of significant expenses made by Dominique Ollivier, who was president of the organization from 2014 to 2021, were made public. She subsequently resigned as president of Montreal’s executive committee last November.
“In addition to the operational independence linked to its mission, the OCPM has granted itself administrative independence from the city, which was never questioned by the latter,” remarked Cossette’s report.
Cossette said the OCPM lacks a system of governance and urges it to adopt one.
The report also said the OPCM didn’t have “appropriate rules to ensure optimal use of the financial resources granted to it by the city.”
The report also raised questions about the Société du Parc Jean-Drapeau and its ability to carry out 95 projects by 2030 that are tied to investments that were initially worth about $970 milllion. That number has since ballooned to $1.1 billion.
Cossette said there wasn’t enough oversight of those projects. She also said there needed to be a clear plan to make sure it was easy to keep track of how the projects are progressing and how public money is being spent.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante will hold a news conference later Tuesday afternoon.