Living in Anjou: safety, housing and rent context

Crime and safety

Police recorded 462 located criminal acts in Anjou over the most recent full year of data, down from 480 in the preceding period, a change of -3.8%. That puts the borough at rank 13 among Montréal boroughs ordered from the lowest rate upward, and the year-over-year picture is stable.

Vehicle-related offences shape the local profile: vehicle thefts make up 27.3% of located acts, a larger slice than any other category. Residential break-ins numbered 87, which works out to 4.2 relative to the number of dwellings, below the city average (5.8 citywide). The break-in trend is rising, so the gap with the city may narrow.

One caveat on the geography: 15.2% of criminal acts published for Montréal carry no location, so borough counts understate the real volume by a similar order.

Housing stock

The assessment roll lists 20,606 dwellings in Anjou. Condominium units account for 18.5% of them, leaving rental buildings and single-family housing to carry most of the stock.

The median construction year is 1969, which places the typical building in the suburban expansion decades rather than the older core. Only 7.6% of dwellings predate that wave, so buyers here are more often looking at post-war apartment blocks, bungalows and later condo projects than at triplexes from the early part of the last century. Expect maintenance questions to centre on roofs, windows, plumbing stacks and electrical panels of that vintage.

What rent costs in the region

Rent figures published by CMHC cover the Montréal census metropolitan area, not Anjou on its own. There is no borough-level average in this dataset, so read the numbers as a regional benchmark rather than as local asking prices.

For the survey year 2025, the regional averages are $1,005 for a studio, $1,131 for a small apartment, $1,346 for a mid-size unit and $1,625 for the largest category. Actual listings in Anjou can land on either side of those marks depending on the building's age, parking and whether heating is included.

Practical notes for newcomers

Given that vehicle thefts lead the local crime profile and break-ins are rising, parking habits matter here. A garage or a well-lit spot, a steering lock or tracker, and nothing visible inside the car go further than most other precautions. For the home itself, reinforced door strikes, a deadbolt and lighting on rear entrances are the low-cost basics; insurers sometimes adjust premiums for a monitored alarm, so ask before installing one.

When you shop for tenant or homeowner insurance, quotes are priced on the postal code rather than the borough, and a building's age influences them too, which is worth keeping in mind with a median construction year of 1969.

Buyers should get a mortgage pre-approval before touring, and budget for the welcome tax and inspection. With condominiums at 18.5% of the stock, read the contingency fund study and recent minutes before committing to one.