A family of tenants from greater Montreal had to carry out a real investigation with photos and videos to succeed in convicting their former owner, who “disguised the truth” to take over their apartment in bad faith, according to a recent judgment.
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“The owner intentionally violated the right of her tenants to remain in the premises. […] His attempt to mislead the Court must be punished,” lamented Judge Suzanne Guèvremont, of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL).
Portrait of Ms. Morand, ordered to pay $7,000 for having taken over housing in bad faith.
Photo taken from Anne Sam’s Facebook account
In her decision rendered last month, we learned that the owner, Marjorie Morand, evicted Bruno Cardinal and Martine Gagné from their home in Repentigny in 2022. Mme Morand pretended that she was taking over their apartment, located on Boulevard le Bourg-Neuf, to move in there.
In interview with the NewspaperMr. Cardinal claims “to have been lucky in his misfortune to find a new apartment for his family on the other side of the street”… Which allowed him and his partner to discover the pot of roses.
She calls the police
The judge wrote in fact that a distant cousin of the owner moved in in August 2022, after the eviction of the family, with her two young children in the accommodation.
“The tenants took photos, at various times, of the building where they lived before being kicked out. They speak for themselves. None, except two, show the owner’s car on the rented premises, which is inconceivable if she is staying there,” notes the honorable Suzanne Guèvremont.
The building where Bruno Cardinal, his partner, Martine Gagné, and their teenager lived before being evicted.
Screenshot of Google Maps
The latter mentions that Marjorie Morand even contacted the Repentigny police officers to denounce her former tenant who was taking photos and videos of her building to accumulate evidence. “The police showed up at his house, which upset him since he had done nothing wrong,” said the judge.
In her defense, the owner explains that she lives with her sick mother in Bois-des-Filion to take care of her. This is why the distant cousin would have taken her place in the apartment at the heart of this dispute.
“The testimonies of the distant cousin and the landlord are riddled with contradictions. All these clues, when added together, lead to the conclusion that the takeover was made in bad faith,” concludes the Court.
“Only” $7,000 fine
Mme Morand was finally ordered to pay the couple the sum of $7,000 in damages.
Ms. Morand with the words “blessed” in this photo published in 2020 on her Facebook account. In an interview with Le Journal, she also claimed to have been the victim of an “unfair” trial.
Photo taken from Majorie Morand’s Facebook account
“It’s only $7,000 for a lot of stress and anxiety. We were asking for $25,000. It took us a year and a half of legal proceedings. I also had to take time off work. I find that we let owners evict their tenants too easily in Quebec,” laments Bruno Cardinal, 46 years old.
The owner, however, assures Newspaper that she was the victim of an “unfair” trial and that she was actually forced to live with her mother who had cancer.
“It’s all wickedness. I thought about appealing the judgment, but it would cost too much according to my lawyer,” says Marjorie Morand.