Several cities such as Sherbrooke or Montreal, Québec Solidaire, or the Montreal Metropolitan Community (MMC) insist that the rental market must be controlled by a rent register.
A few days before July 1, 14 mayors published an open letter calling for the establishment of a universal Québec lease registry (1).
“The evidence is clear: solutions are needed to stop rent inflation, to restore balance and to defuse the housing crisis. However, there is a concrete solution, ready to be deployed now: i.e., a public, universal and mandatory rent register.”
— A quote from an Excerpt from an open letter signed by the mayors of 14 Québec municipalities.
However, Ville de Longueuil dissociated itself from this demand by not signing the open letter.
Moreover, the City of Longueuil is still the fifth largest city in Québec, with a significant demographic weight.
“Mme Fournier did not sign the open letter as she was unable to obtain evidence on the effectiveness of the proposed measure. In this context, she preferred to abstain,” her press secretary, Camille Desrosiers-Laferrière, wrote in a text message. (2)
The Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) was satisfied with the abstention of Mme Catherine Fournier, Mayor of Longueuil, by not signing this open letter.
Indeed, no available data highlight the rent register as a solution.
Apart from wanting to control and manage the assets of small rental housing owners who take care of their buildings, what is the purpose of this abuse of information?
Moreover, the signatories specify “that the platform of “Living in the city” is already fully funded and that it will be offered to the Government at zero cost.”
However, this platform does not seem to offer, for the moment, any verification of information, and it seems limited to data collection.
The Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) is against the imposition of a rent register.
For the APQ, it is necessary to deregulate the rental market by abolishing clause G, a return of supply and demand must be advocated in order to stimulate investment and real-estate development.
The rent register does not seem to be in the Government’s next additional policies but we must remain vigilant and continue to defend the free market.
(1) https://journalmetro.com/actualites/national/3112031/les-maires-sunissent-pour-un-registre-des-loyers/
(2) https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/marche-immobilier/2023-06-29/registre-des-loyers/la-mairesse-de-longueuil-n-a-pas-signe-la-lettre-ouverte.php