Le Plateau-Mont-Royal at a glance

Crime and safety

Police recorded 1,964 located criminal acts in the borough over the most recent full year of data, against 1,973 the year before, a change of -0.5%. The trend is therefore stable, with no sharp movement in either direction.

The crime rate measured against the housing stock reaches 29.5 in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, compared with 24.1 for all boroughs combined, which puts the borough above the city average and at rank 18 out of 19 when boroughs are ordered from the lowest rate upward.

The most frequent category is break-ins, at 29.5% of all located acts. Break-ins alone number 580, for a rate of 8.7 against 5.8 citywide, so this type of offence is above the city average; its year-over-year trend is stable. One caveat applies to every borough: 15.2% of published criminal acts carry no location and so appear in no borough total.

Housing stock

The assessment roll lists 66,604 dwellings in the borough. Condominium units make up 20.0% of them, the rest being rental and owner-occupied units in the plexes and walk-up apartment buildings that dominate the streetscape.

Age is the defining trait here. The median construction year is 1926, squarely in the prewar period, and 65.6% of dwellings predate the postwar era. Buyers should expect the realities that come with older construction: original masonry, exterior staircases, electrical and plumbing systems that may have been updated piecemeal, and renovation work that has to respect the architectural character of the street. Recent buildings exist but are the exception.

Parks and outdoor life

The City's inventory of parks and large parks, which excludes private and institutional green space, counts 79 sites in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. Together they cover 10.9% of the borough's land, slightly more than the 10.1% recorded across all boroughs.

Spread over a dense population, though, that area goes further in some places than others: park space measured against the housing stock comes to 13,305.0 here versus 46,596.0 citywide, which is below the city average. The largest park is Parc La Fontaine.

For families, the equipment count matters more than the acreage. The borough has 51 children's playgrounds, 17 outdoor sports facilities and 4 outdoor recreation facilities, part of a broader inventory of 133 outdoor recreational, sports and cultural facilities.

Rents in the region

The rent figures published by CMHC cover the Montréal census metropolitan area as a whole, not Le Plateau-Mont-Royal specifically. In a central borough with an old rental stock, actual asking rents can sit well above or below these averages depending on the street and the condition of the unit.

For the 2025 survey, the regional average is $1,005 for bachelor units, $1,131 for smaller units, $1,346 for mid-sized units and $1,625 for the largest units. Use them as a yardstick for comparing an apartment you are visiting, not as a prediction of what you will pay.

Practical notes for newcomers

Since break-ins run above the city average at 8.7 against 5.8 for the city, it is worth checking the obvious entry points before you sign: the quality of the door and frame on ground-floor and basement units, window latches on rear balconies, and whether the building has a secured main entrance. Many older buildings here were built before these details were standard.

Ask your insurer what the borough's claims history means for your premium and what deductible applies to theft, and confirm what coverage a condominium syndicate's policy already provides. If you are buying, a mortgage pre-approval obtained before you start visiting will tell you which price bracket is realistic, and a building inspection is especially useful given that 65.6% of the housing stock predates the postwar period.