Students In Quebec Have A New Spin On Housing … And It Seems To Be Working

There’s a housing crisis raging in cities around the globe, but there’s significant disagreement regarding how best to bring down housing costs and combat homelessness.

A group of students at the University of Quebec in Montreal, however, didn’t wait for officials to step in before taking action.

What is the UTILE?

Housing insecurity has been an acute problem for students, which is why the students came up with an unconventional approach that led to the creation of UTILE — an acronym for a French phrase that translates to “work unit for the implementation of student housing.”

It didn’t take long for the movement to gain steam, with a number of affordable-housing structures already open for tenants throughout the Canadian province. Several others are currently at various points in the development and construction process.

Montreal’s government has invested more than $21 million in grants and other types of funding, helping UTILE to earn a spot among the country’s fastest growing companies.

The goal is to have 2,000 rental units in operation (providing affordable housing for at least 3,000 tenants) by 2028.

A mixed reception

Even though UTILE is a non-profit company, it’s been able to go toe-to-toe with the area’s profit-driven real estate firms. But that non-profit status is precisely why some critics are wary of the approach.

For example, the entity benefits from a new law that exempts it from property taxes even though other non-profits in the same market are still required to pay.

There’s also concern about whether locals have been given sufficient opportunity to weigh in on these construction projects.

But there’s no denying the milestones UTILE has already achieved through strategic partnerships and funding strategies — and in the global pursuit for affordable housing, this approach might catch on across the rest of Canada and beyond.

Chris Agee June 18th, 2024

Share this story: