The search for a new home for the tenants thrown out on the street following the fire that gutted a 36-unit apartment block on rue Saint-Hubert in Châteauguay on Thursday is shaping up to be a real ordeal.
Translation Amanda Bennett
“Families who have to move with months’ notice in May are having difficulty finding another home because of the current shortage. It’s even worse at this time of year. And with the start of the new school year just a few days away, it’s going to turn people’s lives upside down. The mayor is right, it’s a real catastrophe,” said François Giguère, Director of SOLIDES, which has owned the building for five years.
The Société locative d’investissement et de développement social (SOLIDES) owns more than 1,000 units in Châteauguay, making it the city’s largest property owner. Contrary to popular belief, SOLIDES offers “affordable” rent, not modest rents, in the sense that there are limits to the impose rental rates, but tenants do not benefit from rent subsidies.
“With the current market, rehousing at the price tenants were paying is going to be extremely difficult,” conceded Mr. Giguère. He expects that many people will eventually have to stay with family or friends.
Temporary Lodging at the Manoir D’Youville
In the hours following the fire, 17 affected families were relocated to the Manoir D’Youville in Châteauguay where the Red Cross took them into their care. Nineteen other families had not yet been seen. The Red Cross normally provides assistance for 72 hours. Mayor Eric Allard has indicated that the city may request an extension. “We’ll see. The Office d’habitation de Roussillon and SOLIDES are working to find solutions,” the Mayor said in an interview on Friday. For its part, the city has opened the Vanier Cultural Centre to facilitate the collection of donations for disaster victims.
The cause of Thursday’s fire had not yet been confirmed at the time this edition went to press on Friday.
A 2nd tragedy in 4 years
In 2019, a neighbouring apartment complex, which was also a social housing building, was engulfed in flames. This building has still not been rebuilt. At its meeting on August 21st, Châteauguay’s City Council authorized changes to the plans for the residential reconstruction of that building.
(In collaboration with Valérie Lessard)