The city’s social housing is inspected three times less often than expected, reveals the latest report from the Auditor General of Montreal.
The document, of which La Presse obtained a copy and which should be submitted Monday or Tuesday to the municipal council, indicates that fewer than 5,000 low-income housing units (HLM) were inspected in 2022-2023.
“Considering that there are 20,810 housing units, the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM) should have inspected 15,954 during this same period to keep up with the pace imposed by the Société d’habitation du Québec. It is therefore only 30% of its target,” indicates the Auditor General of Montreal.
“Failing to carry out preventive inspections and the subsequent execution of the work, the deterioration of housing increases, thus amplifying the necessary repairs in the future,” continues the auditor. “The budgets required to carry out the work are increasing and the probability of having to evacuate homes […] increases. »
La Presse revealed 10 days ago that HLM tenants in eastern Montreal were living in deplorable conditions, with holes in the walls and partially collapsed ceilings. The Plante administration denounced the situation and demanded their rapid relocation.
With some exceptions, City of Montreal inspectors do not visit social housing: they refer tenants’ complaints to the OMHM.
“We take note of the audit report and add your recommendations to the optimization work already undertaken by the OMHM,” reacted the organization in a comment included in the Auditor General’s report. “Over the last few months, we have started to implement measures aimed at improving our processes and ensuring better quality of service. »
The Auditor General’s report also mentions that the order of priority for housing allocation is not always respected. Despite the housing crisis, “dwelling vacancy times [are] largely” between the departure of one tenant and the arrival of another, the report continues.
Furthermore, the Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) does not have a “rigorous management framework or an effective and formal external monitoring mechanism” to supervise the powers of its president, continues the auditor general.
This conclusion comes seven months after an expense allowance scandal which cost Dominique Ollivier, number 2 in the Plante administration, his job.
“The OCPM does not have a governance framework and does not apply appropriate rules to allow optimal use of the financial resources granted to it by the City,” indicates the report. “This notably led to expenses whose necessity and relevance could not be demonstrated. »
The Auditor General indicates that she did not have access to all the invoices that she would have liked to have been able to consult, but identified at least $262,000 in official expenses from 2014 to 2023. “The OCPM has not demonstrated having applied rigorous controls of its expenditure to ensure economical and efficient use of public funds since at least 2014,” indicates its report.
