Rental Housing Health - Montreal
Physical condition of 1,932 Montreal rental buildings inspected by the housing service between January 2024 and December 2025, rated on 6 components (foundation, envelope, projections...) on a scale of 1 to 6.
Launched in January 2024 as a pilot in select Montreal boroughs, the Service de l'habitation's preventive housing inspection program now covers 1,932 multi-unit rental buildings across 18 boroughs. The physical condition scale runs from 1 (good) to 6 (very poor) - the higher the score, the more deteriorated the building. The overall average is 2.35, an acceptable condition overall, but with warning signs: 10% of buildings scored 3 or higher (the dataset's "poor" category), and 6% received a formal infraction notice without prior notice. The program scaled up dramatically: 108 inspections during the pilot (Jan-Jun 2024), then over 200 inspections per month at its peak in 2025.
The most striking finding concerns exterior components. Projections - balconies, railings, cornices and roof overhangs - have the highest average score of all components (2.60), and 46% of buildings score 3 or higher on this element. The building envelope follows with an average of 2.49 and 39% of buildings in concerning condition. Foundations, by contrast, pose problems in only 14% of cases. By borough, average scores range from 2.22 (Rivière-des-Prairies - Pointe-aux-Trembles) to 2.45 (Lachine) for boroughs with more than 20 inspections.
The dataset has several important methodological limitations. The "structural frame" component is only recorded in 15% of cases (281 buildings), as inspectors only assess it when visible signs are present. The pilot period (Jan-Jun 2024) served to test and optimize processes. Finally, the program focuses on multi-unit rental buildings (4+ units): single-family homes and owner-occupied condos are not covered.
23%
23% of inspected buildings were referred for a full integral inspection - nearly 4 times the rate of formal infraction notices (6%). The gap reveals the program's early-detection role: it flags serious situations before they reach the threshold of formal enforcement.
46%
On the scale from 1 (good) to 6 (very poor), 46% of inspected buildings score 3 or higher for projections (balconies, railings, cornices) - the most deteriorated exterior component. Foundations, often perceived as the major structural concern, exceed this threshold in only 14% of cases.