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Owners of low-rise apartment buildings in Montreal will be eligible for subsidies of up to $14,000 per unit and $500,000 per building under new measures announced Monday.

Mayor Valérie Plante said her administration has revised an existing renovation program to encourage landlords to renovate rental housing.

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“In a context of the housing shortage, it is vital to act on every front to increase access to quality units for all Montrealers,” she said at a press conference at city hall.

The subsidies will be available starting April 1 for buildings of five storeys or less with at least six units. At least one-third of the units must have affordable rents, meaning they must be at least five per cent cheaper than the median rent for comparable units in that borough.

The city will invest $3.7 million per year in the program, which it expects to result in the renovation of 70 buildings a year for a total of 700 units annually, she said.