Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension

Safety and reported crime

Over the most recent full year of data, 1,707 located criminal acts were recorded in the borough, compared with 1,676 in the preceding equivalent period, a change of 1.8%. The overall trend is described as stable.

Relative to the number of dwellings, the borough records 23.3 criminal acts, against 23.6 for all boroughs combined, which places it close to the city average. By rank, where the lowest rate comes first, Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension sits at position 14 among the boroughs covered by this site. The most frequent category is thefts from vehicles, accounting for 28.1% of located acts.

Break-ins specifically totalled 421 over the same window, or 5.7 relative to the number of dwellings, compared with 5.8 across the city; that places the borough close to the city average, with a trend described as stable. Keep in mind that 15.2% of criminal acts published city-wide come without a precise location, so borough totals understate the true volume.

Housing stock

The assessment roll lists 73,414 dwellings in Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension. Condominium units make up 7.3% of that stock, a modest share, which means most households live in rental buildings, plexes and other non-divided forms of ownership.

The building stock is old by Montréal standards: the median construction year is 1956, and 63.0% of dwellings were built before the date shown in the facts table. Buyers should budget for the usual questions that come with older construction, from roofing and plumbing to electrical panels and window condition, and should expect inspection reports to matter a great deal.

Rents: regional context

The rent figures on this page come from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation survey for the Montréal census metropolitan area as a whole, for the survey year 2025. They are regional averages, not measurements for Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension, and actual asking rents in the borough may sit above or below them.

Across the metropolitan area, the average rent is $1,005 for a bachelor unit, $1,131 for a smaller one-bedroom apartment, $1,346 for a mid-sized unit and $1,625 for the largest family-sized apartments. Because surveyed averages include long-occupied units, newly listed apartments frequently rent for more.

Practical notes for newcomers

With break-ins close to the city average and the overall crime picture close to the city average, standard precautions are enough for most households: solid door hardware, secured ground-floor and basement windows, and care with items left visible in parked vehicles, given that the leading category here is thefts from vehicles.

If you are buying, ask your lender about a pre-approval before you shop, and confirm what an insurer will require for a building of the age typical in this borough, since 63.0% of dwellings predate the cut-off shown in the facts table. Older electrical systems, plumbing and heating oil tanks are common triggers for insurer questions.

If you are renting, compare listings with the regional averages above rather than treating those averages as borough rents, and visit at different times of day to get a feel for the street before signing.