In her 2018-2019 annual management report, the Québec Ombudsperson devotes a chapter to telephone access to the Régie du logement. The Régie is aware that improvements must be made to expand access to this service, and significant efforts have already been deployed in that regard.

Every year, the Régie du logement receives a very high volume of calls. In 2018-2019, a total of 986 380 calls were processed. 160 615 of those calls were answered by the Régie’s information officers, 18 122 by Services Québec employees, and 807 643 by the interactive voice response system.

In 2018-2019, the average wait time was 23 minutes. Although this is only three minutes more than the objective set in the Régie’s Statement of Services to the Public, the Régie was unable to answer a sufficient volume of calls to reach its objective of 20 minutes or less.

Working toward solutions

On March 21, 2019, the Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, announced a significant increase in the budgets allocated to the Régie du logement: $23.8 million over five years. The increase applies to finances as well as to authorized staffing and will make it possible for the Régie, among other things, to hire 30 new information officers, which will have a major impact on the service offer in all regions of Québec and on the Régie’s ability to quickly respond to requests for information made by telephone, at a service counter or by email.

Although the Régie is affected by the labour shortage, it is making considerable efforts to fill all available positions. In recent months, many people have been hired to provide information to citizens.

The Régie is also making significant efforts to implement innovative solutions that will give the public more autonomy in their search for information concerning their rights and obligations. In collaboration with the Société québécoise d’information juridique, the Régie has introduced a reference tool that enables citizens to search summaries of decisions according to general themes on the Régie’s website, in order to help them better prepare when filing an application with the Tribunal. In addition, the Régie continues to enhance the legal information available on its website and to improve its online service offer.

For more information: www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca.