The Borough of Verdun is considering tightening up its regulations in reaction to the practices of two investors who empty their occupants’ homes to turn them into condominiums for sale, catching tenants forced to leave their affordable housing in a booming area of Montreal by surprise. gentrification.
For nearly 15 years, entrepreneur Mathieu Gauthier has made a living by buying old buildings, then renovating them and selling them in pieces, in the form of undivided co-ownership. By doing so, the investor, who lives in Verdun, claims to contribute to the revitalization of this borough, where he and his partner Dominic Giard have been accumulating residential building acquisitions for several years.
In their approach, the two entrepreneurs try to convince the tenants who live in these buildings to vacate the premises, in exchange for financial compensation of several thousand dollars. Some give in to temptation, while others continue to fight in the hope of retaining the right to stay in their apartment.
This is particularly the case of Wendy Keating, who has lived for 30 years in a large apartment located in one of the two quadruplexes on rue Godin eyed by Mathieu Gauthier and Dominic Giard. The latter sent a letter to the tenants of these two buildings as early as October to offer them to vacate the premises by June 30, 2022 in exchange for financial compensation.
“I have lived here for 30 years. I grew up my whole family here, ”says M.me Keating, who is considering going to the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) to retain the right to stay in his home. “I ended up letting go,” says his neighbor, Marcel Chatelois. After months of “stress”, the 75-year-old will soon be leaving his apartment to move to LaSalle. “I’m tired of fighting. “
“He said he was going to evacuate me, one way or another,” said the former tenant of another building acquired by the two investors, who then felt intimidated. The man has since moved elsewhere in Verdun, after trying unsuccessfully before the TAL to retain the right to stay in his apartment.
Mathieu Gauthier is also increasing the means to get in touch with his tenants in order to convince them to sign non-renewal lease agreements, several of them confided to the Duty.
I ended up letting go. I’m tired of fighting.
“He sent me emails and texts […]. Sometimes, it was several calls in a row, ”says Jocelyn Laplante, who left her home on rue Moffat about three months ago to move elsewhere in Montreal.
Contacted by The duty, Mathieu Gauthier ensures that he is “respectful and seeking solutions” in all of his communications with ” [ses] tenants ”. Regarding the repeated requests cited by several tenants, he assured by email that “all these actions were done with discernment and in all legality”.
” A flaw “
Since the fall of 2020, the Verdun borough has banned the conversions of rental housing into condominiums. This moratorium, which applies to divided co-ownership, does not however concern undivided co-ownership, where the buyers collectively own the building. As for the merger of two dwellings for the purpose of expansion, this remains possible in buildings with four or fewer dwellings in the borough.
“There was nevertheless the desire of the owner-occupiers to enlarge their space to stay in the neighborhood and to live with their families, who saw their rights being infringed. We tried to find a balance, ”explains the mayoress of Verdun, Marie-Andrée Mauger. She nevertheless recognizes that these exceptions to the borough’s regulations can represent “a loophole for large investors”, such as Mathieu Gauthier and Dominic Giard, whose methods she deplores. “It really sickens me,” she blurted out.
The mayoress also evokes the possibility that the borough tightens its regulations so that the merger of two dwellings “is in no way automatic”. A request for exemption would then be systematically required. “It’s a shame, because for a simple owner-occupant, it will cost him more to carry out his project, but if it helps prevent abuse, we will do it. We do not exclude it ”, indicates Mme Mauger. However, the borough cannot completely prohibit evictions related to major expansion work, since the Civil Code of Quebec allows it, recalls the elected.
Without license
The duty has also learned that Mathieu Gauthier and Dominic Giard sent letters concerning notices of non-renewal of lease to several tenants before officially becoming owners of the buildings where they live. In some buildings where tenants have already left the premises under pressure from the two investors, the latter have still not obtained any permit from the borough, the latter confirmed by email. This is particularly the case for buildings located on Godin and Moffat streets.
“We respect TAL regulations, respect all laws and all municipal regulations and improve Verdun, by acting as good corporate citizens”, assures Mathieu Gauthier for his part.
Certain letters sent by the contractor to tenants, in addition to specifying that the actions of investors comply with the legal framework in force, add that these are “encouraged” by the borough as well as by “several of its elected officials” . Words that made Marie-Andrée Mauger jump.
“We can maintain the built heritage without having to take such maneuvers to leave tenants systematically and make major renovations. It is not true that it is encouraged by the borough, and I no longer want to see this quote in Mr. Gauthier’s letters, ”she insists.
Mr. Gauthier, for his part, made sparse comments on this reference in some of his letters to tenants. “I will not comment on the private conversations I have had with elected officials over the years, in all kinds of contexts, because I am a resident of the neighborhood,” he wrote.