The shortage of housing in the region worries many families

Three people have agreed to share their reality and talk about the steps they take to find housing, during the program Public placeMonday.

The housing shortage is more acute this year, particularly in Alma and Saguenay, which are the two municipalities most affected in the region.

In Alma, the vacancy rate fell from 0.9% in 2020 to 0.7% in 2021, according to the latest data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). In Saguenay, the vacancy rate was 1.7% in 2021, compared to 2.8% the previous year.

A campsite of last resort

For Rebeca Gauthier, 20, as well as for her mother and her little sister, the move is approaching. They must leave their 5 ½ by the 1^is May.

The family is looking for a 5 ½ or 4 ½ apartment that would fit their budget and allow them to accommodate their two dogs. They currently pay $1,025 per month and are looking for an apartment that costs between $600 and $800 in Chicoutimi or Jonquière.

Currently, we can’t find much. It is sure that sometimes it is found, but it is really too much above our budget. Otherwise, animals are not acceptedregrets Rebeca, less than two weeks before the move.

They multiply the steps in vain. Sometimes we send messages, we don’t even get an answer. Or just we are told that it is already rented, she explains. We don’t have time to visit when we are told that we can go visit. It’s really flat. The situation causes stress to the young woman.

« I would say that I am quite anxious, I am afraid of finding myself on the street. »

She and her mother began to consider scenarios, if they do not find housing for the 1^is May. Maybe find a campground while waiting to find something else, she says. Because we, the landlord, have already found a new tenant. Or maybe an extension of a month or two…

Moving to have access to a specialized class

Nathalie Trottier is in a similar situation. The one who works as a worker for the Alzheimer Society of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean must leave her apartment in Jonquière to settle in Chicoutimi so that her eight-year-old daughter, who has special needs, has access to a specialized class at the School service center of Rives-du-Saguenay.

The resources were not sufficient for her daughter to continue going to school in Jonquière.

Until I have my proof of address [à Chicoutimi]she is not officially registered, so I have the stress of looking for accommodation, the stress that she is not registeredshe explains.