Quebec's affordable housing funding loss worries tenants' advocates

When Johnfound out the City of Montreal would be evacuating his building, he felt itwas like winning the lottery.

"Its like now, Im going to move into heaven after three years.

John(his name has been changed to protect his identity) has lived in a decrepit Cte-des-Neiges rooming house on Goyer Streetfor the past three years.

For $330 a month, he got a one room lodging, a shared bathroom andrats.

Johnsays he once caught a rat the size of a rabbit.

"You could put in on a barbecue, he says.

Now Johnis leaving behind the rats for an apartment he describes as "a palace.

Hes been fast-tracked into social housing, because inspectors deemed his building unfit for habitation and forced tenants to evacuate.

There are more than 53,000 Montrealers waiting for social housing; most of them will wait an average of four years before they get a spot.

Tenants rights advocates say if elected officials truly want to crack down on Montreal's decrepit housing, they should invest in affordable housing.

Otherwise, people like Johnwouldnt have to live with cockroaches, rats and mould.

But instead of committing to more affordable housing, the Quebec government is pulling back.

AccsLogis funding loss: A depressing future

AccsLogis the main source of funding for new affordable housing projects is a program administered by the Socit dhabitation du Qubec (SHQ).

In 2012, the province injected an extra $53.6 million to supplement its subsidy program, and make up for the rising cost of construction and labour.

Where are people going to go? ... We have to look at this as a social problem and start doing something-DeniseBelec,OEIL

Last month, the province revealed that fund had been mostly spent, and it wouldnt be renewed.

That means that going forward, the provinces subsidies for affordable housing projects will be calculated based on 2009 costs of labour, construction and materials.

In the meantime, tenants advocates are bracing for the worst.The impact of the funding loss is murky the SHQ has vowed to find other sources of funding to make up the difference.

"Were very worried about that because its just going to increase the deterioration of buildings. Because where are people going to go? They have to go somewhere. We have to do something about it. We have to look at this as a social problem and start doing something, says Denise Belec, assistant co-ordinator of OEIL, a Cte-des-Neiges tenants rights group.

"Im not seeing the future very positively right now. Its a little depressing actually.

Searching for solutions

Although AccsLogisexplained their funding changes to CBC News over the phone, the organization did notagree to a recorded interview.

Some housing advocates say the province is working hard to find alternative funding options.

"It could have been worse If they did decide to cut the whole program, it would have been terrible, says Nathalie Ross, executive director of lAssociation des groupes de ressources techniques du Qubec (AGRTQ).

The AGRTQ is a not-for-profit organization that works with community groups to help build affordable housing projects.

Ross says both the SHQ and the City of Montreal have been working with her organization to find solutions.

While theyre not ready to unveil any concrete solutions at this time, Ross says shes confident most of the affordable housing projects will be able to go ahead.

"Were not dropping the towel. We are rolling our sleeves [up] and were going forward, Ross says.