Summary#
Montréal city council unanimously set the city’s position in favour of removing 11 properties from a pre-emption right for social housing. The properties were designated under a 2020 agglomeration council resolution. City staff say removal is intended to avoid unnecessary sale notices and delays; it is not yet final, because the agglomeration council makes the final decision at a later meeting.
- The lots are at 2280 and 2290 rue Florian; 2230 rue Florian; 2400–2424 rue Florian; 1277 rue Saint-Christophe and 1242 rue Saint-André; a project on rue Fullum; 464 rue Saint-François-Xavier; 1865–1875 and 1885–1897 avenue de l’Église; 5432 rue Eadie; and 1903–1911 avenue de l’Église. City staff place them in Ville-Marie and Le Sud-Ouest.
- The proposed removal covers lots 3 361 259, 3 361 260, 5 097 267, 2 162 102, 1 424 728, 1 424 727, 1 180 889, 1 573 179, 1 573 180, 1 573 181 and 1 573 606.
- The city council also mandated the City’s legal affairs department to take the required steps, including cancelling the notices registered against the properties.
What it means for you#
- Owners: The properties remain subject to the pre-emption right unless the agglomeration council approves the removal and the required steps are completed. Under the current designation, owners must inform the City if they receive and accept a purchase offer. Developing a property without a sale does not itself trigger that notice, according to city staff.
- Potential buyers: City staff say that, while the designation remains, a sale can involve a notice process with a 60-day processing period. If the notices are removed, that process would no longer apply to these properties under the 2020 designation.
- People seeking social housing: The decision removes these specific properties from the City’s designated pool for possible acquisition under this pre-emption right. It does not itself create or end a housing program.
Money#
City staff report no financial impact to the City from removing the designations.
- The materials give no separate estimate for the cost of the legal work.
What is unclear#
- The materials do not establish when the notices would be cancelled if the agglomeration council approves the city’s position.
- They do not say whether any other rules or designations would apply to these properties after removal.
Case for#
- City staff say these properties have been developed or divided into condominiums without a sale, and the City did not intend to acquire condominiums for social housing.
- Removing the notices could avoid processing notices for individual units or groups of homes that the City does not plan to buy.
- City staff say the notice process could delay sales to buyers by up to 60 days.
Case against#
- Removing the designations would take away the City’s pre-emption right for these properties, limiting its ability to acquire them for social housing if they are sold.
- The materials do not describe an alternative way to secure these properties for social housing or explain how the City would weigh that possibility against reducing sale delays.