An Opinion Paper on Housing Discrimination Against Women Living with a Disability
The members of the Conseil des Montréalaises (CM) presented their latest opinion paper, "Housing in Montreal: Opinion on Housing Discrimination Against Women Living with a Disability" (in French). This opinion paper, which flags some troubling blind spots on fundamental rights, was developed in response to long-standing demands from feminist groups around access to affordable, safe and accessible housing. The members of the CM also wanted to consider the experiences of women living with a disability, who are often overlooked by municipal policy.
Women living with disabilities encounter numerous barriers when looking to rent an apartment. They are forced to work around the lack of available units, waiting lists, and units that are too small. They are also confronted with a lack of accessible units and information. Often, they must shoulder the burden of making their housing accessible by themselves. The research also found that they face prejudice from landlords, who don't consider them to be desirable tenants.
This opinion paper concludes that women living with a disability are victims of systemic discrimination when looking for housing in Montreal. To fight this discrimination, the CM developed 34 recommendations for the City of Montreal, covering the fight against discrimination and ableism, universal accessibility norms, social and community housing, and the Home Adaptation Program (HAP).
Related page (in French): Logement: un règlement d’inclusion qui ne prévoit rien en matière d’accessibilité universelle, Métro, 22.11.2019