In this period of rent increase notices, tenants should expect unpleasant surprises this year, because the increases imposed by their landlord could be steep. If the tenants are entitled to contest the increase in rent which they consider abusive, some hesitate to do so for fear of seeing their name registered in the files of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) for eternity.
Inflation, rising costs of materials and services, rising municipal and school taxes, rising insurance costs. All of these have the potential to send rental costs skyrocketing in 2023.
The number of calls received at the beginning of the year by housing committees concerning rent increases suggests a difficult season for lease renewals. The Bureau d’animation et information logement du Québec métropolitain (BAIL) has already counted twice as many calls as at the same time last year, and 2022 had not been easy.
“It’s shaping up to be a banner year,” says Jonathan Carmichael, community organizer at BAIL. It is impossible for the moment to assess the average increases imposed on tenants, but, judging by the calls received, the average increases requested by landlords are $55, while the average rent is $851.
For 2023, the TAL has set the average rate of increase for unheated units at 2.3%, but this remains an index that does not take into account municipal and school tax increases in each locality and other expenses incurred. by the owner. It is therefore necessary to use the TAL calculation grid to determine the actual increase for each dwelling.
“Tenants go there blind when the landlord doesn’t provide them with the evidence,” says Jonathan Carmichael. If it is possible to consult the tax increases for each building, a public data, it becomes more difficult for a tenant to know the amount of the building’s insurance or the cost of the work carried out in the case of major renovations.
A tenant can ask the landlord to provide him with the data of his calculation grid and, even better, the supporting documents related to the increases, but he cannot demand them. If, however, the file ends up in rent fixing before the TAL, the landlord must provide all these documents.
The Quebec Landlords Association (APQ) concedes that rent increases will be higher this year. Its president, Martin A. Messier, mentions increases of up to 17% for buildings that have undergone major work, in compliance with the TAL calculation grid.
He reports that in addition to tax increases, which vary from one municipality to another, insurance continued to increase in 2023. “There are fewer and fewer insurers who are active in the rental market , and prices rise. For the biggest buildings, it has become difficult to find an insurer”, explains Martin A. Messier, president of the APQ, who also cites the recurrence of claims, the aging of the building stock and the performance of major works that the depreciation period has decreased this year.
Dispute or not
It is not illegal for a landlord to impose a rent increase as they see fit, whether it is $10 or $300 more per month. But any tenant has the right to oppose it. On the other hand, in the event of a judgment fixing the rent – as in other cases – the names of the parties will be entered in the docket, which puts off some tenants who fear that being “on file” at the TAL will cause them harm. if they are looking for a new home in the future, even if the court has ruled in their favor.
“Landlords have so much choice when it comes to renting accommodation that they will say that they don’t want a tenant who defends their rights,” says Stéphane Moreau, community organizer at the Comité Logement Rive-Sud. However, he recognizes that it is difficult to prove that a landlord has refused to rent accommodation to a person whose name appears in the plumitif for a rent fixing file.
“Our justice system should stop publishing small cases like that, namely rent fixing at the very least, says Mr. Moreau. Rent fixing cases are not cases that need serious deliberation, because, in some cases, it’s not even a judge who decides, it’s a clerk with his calculator. »
Jonathan Carmichael points out that under article 1899 of the Civil Code of Quebec, a lessor cannot refuse a lease to a lessee “for the sole reason that this person has exercised a right granted to him under this chapter or under the Act respecting the Administrative Housing Tribunal”.
The issue of transparency
Housing Lawyer, Me Manuel Johnson acknowledges that the publication of the names of the parties in the docket in such cases is likely to put off tenants and even cause them harm in the future. Searches were greatly facilitated in 2009 with the online availability of records, and anyone can search CanLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute) data to find judgments rendered by the courts.
However, the lawyer is of the opinion that court decisions must remain accessible. “The fundamental principle of our justice system is that it be public, with the exception of family matters or when the dignity or safety of persons is at stake,” he said. But it is the symptom of a deeper problem, namely the imbalance in the balance of power between tenants and landlords due to the shortage of housing, the economic context and the very status of the people involved. »
“Not all cases are of public interest,” he admits. But it is impossible to sort through these files. Transparency is very important. »
Sometimes transparency has its downsides, he points out. What some tenants who are defending themselves do not know is that the documents of proof that they send in advance to the TAL in anticipation of a hearing can be made accessible to everyone and, in some cases, it can be confidential information, such as medical records, he warns. “We are not obliged to send the supporting documents in advance,” he reminds us.
The Quebec Landlords Association assures that rent-fixing judgments should not have an impact on the choice of a tenant for a rental unit. “We recommend that owners do their checks at the TAL. If a tenant got kicked out because they were bothering everyone and partying day and night, that’s good to know. In the analysis of a file, the decision of the acceptance of the candidate or not, the fact that he went in fixing of rent, for us, it is not relevant. »
For the Regrouping of housing committees and tenant associations of Quebec (RCLALQ), the fears of tenants are real. The organization also pleads for a cap on rent increases, a principle applied elsewhere in the world, in particular in 150 municipalities in the United States, underlines Martin Blanchard, co-spokesperson for the organization. To obtain an increase above this ceiling, an owner must apply to the court.
“But the message that the workers from the housing committees will send to the tenants is: ‘Do you really want to get together with a landlord who has refused your entry into the accommodation because you have asserted your rights’? »