Affordable social and family housing: A priority for families in CDN-NDG

MONTRÉAL, Feb. 5, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough council last night adopted by a majority its local policy on the contribution of new residential projects to affordable social and family housing.

This policy acts as a complement to the city's Strategy for the inclusion of affordable housing in new residential projects, which is aimed at new construction projects with 100 or more dwellings.

In order to meet the growing need for affordable quality housing, the Borough came up with a more ambitious policy better adapted to the realities within its limits.

"In a borough like ours, where real estate projects are highly diverse, we believe it's important to include non-compliant smaller-scale projects as part of our collective effort to promote a greater mix in our neighbourhoods. We also want to foster an approach that encourages the construction of affordable social and family housing on site, where possible, and we've adjusted the financial contribution regulations accordingly," said Borough Mayor Sue Montgomery.

The local policy will require that all developers of non-compliant construction projects of 6 to 49 dwelling units remit a financial contribution of 15% to the social housing fund, and this fund must be reserved for the borough.

Projects that call for 50 or more dwellings and which require regulatory amendments will be obliged to include 20% of affordable housing built on site, 5% of which must be dedicated to family housing. In terms of social housing, a minimum of 20% will be required, and this rate will increase based on the scale of the projects and the site on which they are developed.

"It is widely recognized that housing affordability has a direct impact on health, social connections, and many other factors for well-being. In our borough, more than 27,000 tenant household spend more than 30% of their income for rent. We believe, in keeping with the recommendation set out in the Round Table for Poverty Reduction CDN-NDG, that the adoption of this local policy will stimulate the development of affordable social housing that meets the needs of more vulnerable people, who currently have to wait an average of five years for the right to proper housing," said Magda Popeanu, city councillor and vice-president of the executive committee.

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Arrondissement de Côte-des-Neiges - Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Sophie Landreville, 514-868-4018

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