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Starting in 2021, developers in Montreal will be required by law to set aside 20 per cent of new housing units for social housing, 20 per cent for affordable housing, and 10 to 20 per cent for family-size units, or pay the city compensation in land or cash.

The new requirements, outlined in a draft bylaw unveiled Wednesday, will enable the city to stem the exodus of low- and middle-income families to the suburbs and maintain socially diverse neighbourhoods, Mayor Valérie Plante said at a press conference on Amherst St. in the Centre-Sud neighbourhood.

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“Today we are taking concrete action to make Montreal an inclusive, fair and just city,” she said.

Plante said the draft bylaw, which has been 18 months in the making and will only be adopted in early 2020, will help achieve her administration’s signature promise of creating 12,000 new social, affordable and family dwellings.

“When I envision Montreal 10 years, 20 years, 50 years from now, what I hope to see are diverse neighbourhoods where everyone belongs no matter their financial status. Diverse neighbourhoods where Montrealers can work, live, move around more efficiently, shop locally and enjoy parks and local services,” she said.