Kafkaesk deadline to rebuild in Montreal

Since mid-September, his small house in the Ahuntsik district, north of Montreal, has been vacant. With his wife and their two young children, they left the campus in anticipation of important and necessary modernization and expansion work.

But things have not started yet. When does it start? I do not knowChristian Poppin sighed as he applied for a restoration permit in his borough in early July.

We didn’t hear from us until September, then we were asked for new plans, which we sent back immediately. No news since then. I never expected it to be so late, He stated.

What is frustrating is not to pressure the entrepreneur. We prepare

The contractor’s job in finding other contracts or temporary accommodation, any surprises, is already under normal pressure of relocation., He recalled.

Over the past few weeks, Radio-Canada has received a number of messages from passionate homes, experiencing similar stories that have significant consequences on their personal lives.

Like Christian Poppin, many Montreal families need to be patient with their problems.

This is KofkesqueFor example, one mother wrote. Others mentioned the lack or absence of a follow-up and waiting several months, sometimes up to a year, before getting a letter, call or email from their borough. And this is not uncommon or an exception, it is far from it.

463 days waiting in LaSalle

According to the statistics we have obtained, the delay in obtaining a building, modification, restoration or demolition permit in most central environments has increased exponentially.

In Ville-Marie, for example, it currently takes 116 working days to get a response from the borough, compared to 55 days in 2019. That means waiting an average of more than five months.

The delays also doubled Popular district Willare-St-Michael-Park-Extension, in two years, goes from 26 days to 54 days.

During the same period Cote-des-Niges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace (62 days), Outremont (70 days) or Plateau-Mont-Royal also recorded similar increases, now it is necessary to wait almost four months. One period, again, it has doubled since 2019.

In Ahuntzik-Cartierville, you now have to wait an extra month to get a municipal permit (68 days compared to 44 days in 2019). In Mercier-Hochelaga-Mysonnew, two days ago 29 days of treatment was required. The expectation almost tripled and reached 73 days.

But the reward for the long delays is largely to LaSalle Borough.

Before receiving a building permit, a LaSalle resident must wait 463 days, the borough wrote to us. This is an increase in dizziness as the average times in 2019 are 133 days. On the other hand, for a transition, we are talking about a period of 59 years, two years ago 31.

Restoration work is on the rise in Montreal.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Ivano Demers

Pandemic and labor shortage

How to explain these delays and this amazing increase in delays?

It is a long process, Defends LaSalle Borough, which has processed 23 building permit applications this year.

For this type of site with new buildings, “requests will be discussed through the Town Planners, then go through the Town Planning Advisory Committee (CCU) and the Borough Council,” a spokesman said.

Arguments vary depending on the environment. The epidemic was mentioned, but so was the lack of staff.

Like everywhere else, we had to fight labor shortages.

There is a shortage of workers in the borough in many sectors, which partly explains the increase in delays., We also guarantee in Outremont.

We need to consider the share of problems, especially the supply chain and the health context in relation to workers.

Others stressed an increase in the number of requests, and overall, according to data provided to Radio-Canada, these figures are consistent.

Permission is required before starting work.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Ivano Demers

Work without permission

It is impossible to have accurate statistics, but doing things without permission has become commonplace in Montreal. Error, basically, with these long delays.

For example, a businessman told us that we have a full schedule until the beginning of next year. Customers prefer to start their site without the municipal blessing, for fear of postponing the work and because the contractor is not available.

Frederick Cross is an interior designer in the metropolis. She was overwhelmed. I never made too many requests, She says.

My role is to tell people to apply [de permis], But many are doing their jobs without asking.

It tells the story of customers who want to redo their kitchen and bathroom. Permission was sought in December last year to start work in March. There was a positive response in September; The site is complete.

“Contractors are not available,” she said. Customers often need Booker One, before getting permission, is required to block the date for work. “

It was this architect who faced this situation Discouraged Homes that want to get the job done quickly. I tell them to wait a year to get all the permits, depending on the size of the project.

This was confirmed by General Contractor, Ramji Rad Complexity. He said the expectation would have major repercussions for construction companies as well.

I turned down projects because of this headache.

“We have to shake hands, we have to accept it or modify our project,” he lamented.

Franకోois Croto has been mayor of Rosemont-La Petite-Patri since 2009.

Photo: Radio-Canada / Romaine shoe

Very confusing

Some districts are better off. Verdon or Rosemont‌lo-la Petite-Patry, in particular, delays are constant. We talk for about 30 days on average to get a permit.

But it is very costly Questioning, Rosemont Mayor-la Petit-Patry, Franకోois Crotou standard.

In his borough, two-thirds of permit applications are processed in two weeks or less.

Four years ago, the district we were most late. We gave it a boost, Tells those who have chosen Those who leave the political world. Then also the project manager Of digital transformation Of the city of Montreal.

We are at the bottom of the barrel. We realized that this was very annoying. We took the time to analyze all the processes.

After administrative analysis, the verification and analysis steps are reduced, such as the number of people involved in the files. Applications can also be made online. And the results are reliable. It pays to the baroque, He suggests, referring Receipts Created by these permissions.

The number of unauthorized tasks has also decreased, He believes.

Sometimes we blame the terms or complexity, but that’s not the problem. We need to review the ways we do things, He agreed, inviting other barogs Take time To modify their own processes.

It is difficult for families. Restoration is a life project. There are so many renovations that people can’t buy anywhere else and these families want to stay in town. We really need to help them, he stressed. These delays increase anxiety.