Almost a third of social housing in Quebec in deplorable state

Housing inspection reports obtained by Radio-Canada give a failing grade to 29 per cent of the buildings set aside for affordable, subsidized housing in Quebec.

The reports indicated that 707 buildings are inbad or very bad condition.

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Quebec's housing corporation, the Socitd'habitation du Qubec (SHQ), rates the quality ofeach building in its social housing inventorybetween A and E, with grades D and E signalingconditions that are either "bad" or "very bad."

According to the documents obtained by Radio-Canada, 315 buildings set aside for low-income housing were graded as E.

A further 390 were ranked as D.

Catching up after years of neglect

"It's no joke," said Robert Pilon, who heads the affordable housing groupLa Fdration des locataires d'habitations loyer modique du Qubec.

"It means your kitchen, your bathroom, are finished and worn out. It means you don't have a good quality of life."

Pilon believes that the poor quality of government-owned,subsidizedhousing in Quebec can be explained by several years of insufficient investment in maintaining the buildings.

Fifteen years ago, the provincial government wassetting aside only around $30 million annually for the maintenance of its low-income housing stock, he said.

That number rose to $343 million by 2008, where it has remained ever since.

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In 2007, the SHQ estimated it would cost $4 billion to repair and renovateits social housing stock. About half that amount has been invested since.

Better to start from scratch?

Laval has the highest percentage of poor social housing, with 31 per cent getting an E grade, according to SHQ documents.

The worst of the worst is the Val-Martin social housing complex in theChomedeydistrict where some 60 buildings are in deplorable condition.

The complex, built in the 1950s and once privately owned, suffered a serious water-infiltration problem in 2006, caused by a torrential downpour and rapid snow melt.

"The infiltration caused mould, and when you have mould, you have unhealthy conditions," said Laval citycouncillorNicholas Borne, who chairs Laval's municipal housing office (OMH).

Tenants had to be moved out, and now more than half the 534apartments in the social housing complex stand empty.

Borne said the OMH has renovated 30 apartments from top to bottom, at a cost of $150,000 per unit.

"It's more cost-effective, more reliable and more sustainable to start again from nothing," said Borne.