Owners denounce the growing use of lease assignments and the “stratagems” developed by tenants to rent their apartments without their consent. The rental market, they say, is on the verge of “breaking point.”
The Corporation of Real Estate Owners of Quebec (CORPIQ) accuses tenants of misleading their landlord by signing lease renewal notices, and then posting their apartment on Facebook groups dedicated to transfers.
“Many tenants will renew their lease knowing very well that they do not intend to live there on July 1,” said CORPIQ spokesperson Marc-André Plante. These online groups “are growing,” he said. “There are some that have 54,000 members.”
CORPIQ was the first group to be heard on Thursday during the study of Bill 31 on housing by Minister France-Élaine Duranceau. She states that “the transfer of leases has transformed into a parallel market” and gives rise to a “commodification of leases”.
On the verge of breaking point
Some tenants, the group argues, advertise their apartment online, even negotiating rents higher than what they pay themselves by including their furniture in the price, for example.
According to CORPIQ, Bill 31 “restores the balance” and allows us to “return to the spirit of the law” which allowed lease transfers during the 1990s, during the government of Robert Bourassa. . He argues that current legislation is so “outdated” that his industry is on the verge of “breaking point.”
CORPIQ members say they are particularly vulnerable, because “most” have mortgages at variable rates. “The only thing that allows us to stay afloat is to cut maintenance,” declared its spokesperson.
A little earlier in the morning, Prime Minister François Legault seemed open to a step back on lease transfers.
“We are not excluding anything,” said the Prime Minister during a press scrum. “We are open to proposals. »
Despite the outcry over this affair since June, it was the first time that the government had shown the slightest openness to revising its position. However, the Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, has not repeated the Prime Minister’s comments since.
Housing in poor condition
In its presentation, CORPIQ also argued that lease transfers contribute to the deterioration of apartment buildings. “It’s when a tenant leaves that we carry out major work,” said CORPIQ vice-president Éric Sansoucy. A system which also harms subsequent tenants, who inherit housing in poor condition, added one of his colleagues.
The Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ) expressed the same opinion. “We must not miss these opportunities to renovate our buildings, not let them deteriorate,” said his advisor François Bernier.
These renovations are all the more important, he believes, from the point of view of energy savings. “There is a huge pool of energy efficiency hidden in our homes,” he said. It would be much easier to have access to this basin than to invest in a dam. »
According to him, governments should offer much more generous energy efficiency subsidy programs than what is currently given. “It’s an economic engine and what’s more, it preserves the quality of our building. »
Consultations on Bill 31 are scheduled to resume next Tuesday with presentations from the Union of Quebec Municipalities and the City of Montreal in particular.