Of the twenty Sherbrooke households that were in want of a new home last week, 14 still have nowhere to go. According to Normand Couture, spokesperson for the Association des Locataires de Sherbrooke, eight of those families have taken the city’s offer of temporary housing while the others are staying with friends and family. “The situation is far worse than in other years,” Couture said, reminding The Record that although there are often five to eight families without homes at this time of year, this year’s larger number is exceptional due to a number of factors. First of all, the renters’ association representative said, for a renter’s market to be in equilibrium the vacancy rate for a community needs to be no lower than three per cent. Sherbrooke’s is currently at 2.4. Secondly, Couture continued, of the rental spaces that are available, the majority have either been deemed unsafe by the municipal housing board or are too expensive to qualify for rent subsidies. See full story in the Wednesday, July 3 edition of The Record.
Several Sherbrooke renters still without homes
By Gordon Lambie
