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A year after low vacancy rates left dozens of families homeless in Montreal, it looks like the city’s rental market is about to get even tighter.

Early forecasts for next year’s vacancy rate has the number as low as 1.3 per cent. That figure is based on unofficial estimates provided by the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation during a meeting Wednesday and have been confirmed by two people in attendance.

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“It was so bad last year that youth protection took children from their parents because they didn’t have a place to live after their leases expired,” said Sandrine Belley, who works with POPIR, a renters’ rights group based in St-Henri.

“We were in crisis mode last year; I can’t think of what it’ll look like if the market gets worse. This is something that affects single mothers, families living in poverty, people without means.”

A 1.3 per cent vacancy rate would mark the lowest in Montreal since 2001. That year, only 0.5 per cent of apartments weren’t occupied. Last year’s rate was 1.9 per cent, and the CMHC is still tabulating the 2019 figures.