Housing

Housing

Housing

Housing : Where should you live?

Being in a good home, living in a healthy place, in an environment where you feel safe, and in a neighbourhood you have chosen helps to preserve your mental health.

A wide range of choices

For people who can afford it, buying a house or apartment is not a problem. The majority of people living with significant mental health problems generally have low incomes and have to make difficult economic choices where housing is a very important part of the budget.

In most cities, it is with some (or a lot of) luck that the search for a financially accessible and conveniently located apartment will be successful. In order to broaden the possibilities, people will turn to shared housing, which implies a sharing of privacy that is not available to everyone, while having, on top of that, a negative impact on income..

To help people with low incomes, different solutions have been created over time. Housing co-ops offer competitively priced apartments. On the other hand, the person has to get involved in one or other of the committees of co-operative life.

Cities offer low-income housing (HLM). Often, the waiting list is very long and several criteria influence the choice of priorities of administrations when an apartment becomes available.

Because low-rent housing construction has been very limited in recent decades, there is a rent supplement program (RSP)..

Since the late 1970s, Rent Supplement Programs (RSPs) have allowed tenants to live in a private dwelling, a housing co-op or an NPO while paying a rent similar to that of an HLM, i.e. 25% of their income. The difference between the rent paid by the tenant and the cost of housing management is made up by a subsidy managed by the OMHM. These buildings are managed by their respective owners, and tenants should contact them for any questions concerning maintenance, security and good neighbourliness. Certain costs may be added for the tenant: electricity, parking, etc.

Another solution could be affordable housing, as described below according to the OMH de Montréal :

Unlike subsidized housing, the rent for these units is not calculated based on household income. It is determined according to the building, its location, the size of the dwelling and the services offered. It is below the median rent of the Montréal market as established each year by the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ).

The community organization community has been involved in the real estate market for several years by creating multiple housing locations to meet the specific needs of population groups, including those living with mental health problems. Often these housing units bring together people who have experienced different problems in order to avoid the stigmatization of the building. The Réseau québécois des organismes sans but lucratif d’habitation (RQOH) is made up of 8 regional federations representing 1,200 non-profit housing organizations that are autonomous and independent of governments. Across Quebec, they offer nearly 55,000 housing units..

Help finding an apartment

Help in finding an apartment

Community organizations offer assistance in finding housing. Finding an apartment remains difficult when the number of units available on the market is low, as the media regularly remind us.

Being accompanied can also help the person to clarify his choices, ask questions, and better enforce the legal limits of information that landlords can ask for.

In certain teams in the health network, such as those for intensive follow-up and follow-up of varying intensity, interveners can help people looking for accommodation.

Rights

Several legal issues may arise in relation to housing. What are the landlord’s obligations? What are the rights of the tenant? What can I do if the landlord asks for a significant increase in the rent? To decide in all situations, the Régie du logement (https://www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca) hears the cases presented to it. On its site you can read a lot of information about the rights and duties of each of the parties.

An important source of information is the housing committees, which have accumulated a great deal of information and experience in their respective territories. The Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ) allows you to find the housing committee closest to your home at this address;  https://rclalq.qc.ca/comites-logement/

Other options

If it is not a self-contained dwelling unit that is suitable

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) provides guidance in the organization of housing services offered to people living with mental health problems or disorders.

The MSSS favours independent housing accompanied by appropriate support in the community (basic non-intensive support [SBNI], variable intensity support [SIV], intensive follow-up in the community [SIM]). However, given the diversity of the needs, abilities, preferences and aspirations of service users, a full range of residential resources must be developed and maintained in all regions, in collaboration with partners from the public, private and community, health and housing sectors. Individuals must be directed to an appropriate resource or housing based on their preferences, an assessment of their needs in terms of support and intensity of services, while ensuring that their age is taken into account and the judicious use of available resources.

When a person does not have the necessary autonomy to live in an apartment, intermediate (IR) and family-type resources could be offered to him or her. IRs can be a group residence, a rooming house, a supervised apartment, a foster home. A family-type resource (FTR) will take the form of a foster family (9 children or less) or a foster home (9 adults or less).