The lack of services from the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) could put hundreds of tenants on the street since they will not be able to challenge their eviction notices in time, which are on the rise even in the regions.
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“It’s as if we were in the middle of a pandemic, the TAL services have not returned to its pre-pandemic service. Many more tenants will be evicted, ”worries Martin Blanchard, co-spokesperson for the Regroupement des Comités Logements et des Associations de Tenants du Québec (RCLALQ).
Having great difficulty in reaching officials of the government institution by telephone or even in person, many tenants fear that they will not be able to refuse the eviction of their landlord.
“It’s almost impossible to get an appointment at the TAL within the set deadlines. On site, I was told that I had to make an appointment, except that the only one available before January 30 was in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the last day on which I could make a dispute, ”says Florian Mevel, a 42-year-old Montreal tenant.
“I could have lost my home if I hadn’t managed to open a file,” he adds. (see below).
Because in Quebec, tenants have 30 days to open a dispute file in court from the day they receive the notice from the landlord, who had until December 31.
After this period, the TAL considers that the tenant has accepted the eviction. January is therefore a busy month for eviction challenges.
Aggravation
According to the RCLALQ, this type of situation could worsen since the TAL services are not running as before the pandemic, but especially since evictions have increased by almost 150% in Quebec and by almost 508% in the regions alone between 2021. and 2022. A record, according to the advocacy organization.
“Before, we didn’t see any evictions in the region, but it’s becoming a growing reality. And the problem is that in some areas, there is also almost no service. A lot of people give up,” laments Mr. Blanchard.
Once a month
Out of 30 offices, almost a third are not open every day of the week.
In Matane, for example, the office is only open for four hours on the last Friday of each month. In January, no more appointments were available for the only opening date on Friday 27 January.
Same thing in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce where the office is only open the last Tuesday of the month.
In Montreal, none of the three TAL offices had slots available before February 8.
“Over the years, we see that there is less and less service. In the case of evictions, it benefits landlords because if the tenant does not contest in time, it is as if he accepted the eviction,” laments Mr. Blanchard.
TAL spokesperson Denis Miron indicates that “these are offices and service points with a lower volume of visits”.
“These opening hours have been established based on traffic and available resources and are reviewed periodically,” he adds.
Worthy of the twelve labors of Asterix
Tenants threatened with eviction deplore having to go through a real obstacle course to succeed in asserting their rights to the TAL.
“I tried for more than a week to reach someone at the Tribunal to help me challenge my eviction, but I couldn’t,” says Marcel Arbour, a 76-year-old resident of Plateau-Mont-Royal in Montreal.
Knowing his right to stay in his home, which he has lived in for almost 30 years, he immediately knew that he was going to defend himself at TAL.
“But it’s almost impossible to find information on your own,” adds the man who managed to challenge his eviction two days before the deadline.
Without the help of the housing committee, it would have been impossible for him to do the operation using the online service.
“It is very difficult to send a request [en ligne], you have to know the law very well. All it takes is one error for the request to be denied. The TAL hides behind this solution, but it’s impossible to contest with this service without the help of a lawyer,” argues Martin Blanchard, of the RCLALQ.
Complicated on the spot too
And even by going to one of the TAL offices, it is difficult to get help.
Florian Mevel, a resident of the Rosemont district, had to go twice to the office in downtown Montreal to open his protest file. The first time was January 23.
“When I arrived, a security guard immediately told me that I could not access the service, even though I said it was for an eviction challenge,” he says. .
Sitting together the next day in the same office with a representative of the RCLALQ and the Logan employee agreed to open a file.
“Throughout she made me feel like a black sheep and repeatedly told me that I was ‘an exception’ and should have made an appointment online,” he adds. .
For its part, the TAL confirms that tenants do not need to make an appointment to open a file and that all employees and security guards have received instructions.