The MRC Pontiac has launched a new online platform designed to help people seeking rental accommodations to find often-elusive rental opportunities in the region.
The platform is a website where landlords can post ads for medium- to long-term rental properties, creating a one-stop-shop for people trying to find a place to rent.
MRC economic development coordinator in charge of housing, Rachel Soar-Flandé, said she created the platform to connect tenants and landlords, which can sometimes be difficult.
“There are [rental] advertisements on community blogs and on Facebook [ . . . ] and it becomes very complicated and time-consuming to find them. So the idea came to mind to create a property hub where landlords could list for free their apartments or houses they have up for rent,” she said.
Rental listings are currently available online on sites like Kijiji as well as on community Facebook groups. But Soar-Flandé said not everyone is aware of these groups, especially newcomers.
“I have been contacted by employers multiple times to help them find somewhere for new employees to live,” she said.
Soar-Flandé said the MRC cannot totally stop these underground rentals, only give landlords and tenants the means to connect with each other.
“We do have a problem between the supply and the demand of available properties,” she said. “There is a lot of word of mouth [ . . . ] as far as what things are available, and I’m hoping that landlords will engage in this website.”
She said the website is meant to highlight specifically medium- to long-term rentals, or stays of over a year.
“We’re not looking to have people have to shuffle from one place to the other, [that’s] not stability. We’re looking for people to find somewhere to live so that they can work or upgrade or downgrade, or we’ve got people that have sold their properties [and] are now looking to rent,” she said.
Carrefour jeunesse-emploi du Pontiac director Karim El Kerch said the platform begins to address a need for a central platform where people wanting to work in the region can find housing.
“We have been confronted quite often with a real barrier of the installation of people on the territory, and that is housing,” he said. “People will change their mind [about coming here] because they haven’t found housing.”
CISSSO Pontiac service network director Nicole Boucher-Lariviere said the platform, which was the result of conversations between various community organizations including the Carrefour and the MRC’s housing department, will give new arrivals another option to find housing.
“I am very encouraged by the arrival of this platform,” she said in an email. “I believe [it] will diversify the options for people looking for housing and facilitate pairings.”
She said her service network has had success hosting new arrivals with the help of a few different tools, including a resource directory and a small maisonette which allows them to house several health professionals nearby to the hospital.
“In the past few months we have had much success,” she said. “For our new doctors, we have a sub-committee [ . . . ] that helps new doctors get settled in the area.”
Boucher-Lariviere said she would also like to see an employee in charge of hosting new arrivals with an information kit.
The website is live now and can be accessed via the MRC Pontiac’s housing selection.
