It’s tax time. But it is also that of lease renewals. Rent increases, substantial again this year, have arrived, received in February. And if, like me, you still have so-called “affordable” housing – from the “old market”, some will tell you – you are hanging on. If not, where do you want to go? More importantly, can you afford it?
As a tenant, those good old days of “free month” when signing a 12-month lease seem very far away. You remember ? It was the 1990s. The vacancy rate was…great, at least for renters. You could even negotiate a little painting when signing. What a beautiful time, all the same! Today, in this rental market that has been oversaturated for years, everything has changed. It’s hard to call you back for a simple apartment visit or a pathetic repair.
And faced with this other significant increase, again this year, there are not 56 options for tenants. You can contest, refuse the increase and go to the Housing Tribunal (TAL). We can also leave, move (to go where?), or even negotiate. In all three cases, good luck. Arm yourself with plenty of time and patience.
This endless “housing crisis”, denied for years by the CAQ government and Prime Minister François Legault, has existed for too long. And as columnist Michel David rightly pointed out recently, by persisting, a crisis sometimes transforms into a new normal. Well, here we are.
We could talk to you for a long time about this “new normal”. As tenants, we can certainly testify to this, and talk to you about it, since we have been suffering the repercussions of this perpetual “housing crisis” for years. And soon, because we are “on edge” about being evicted, our health will be seriously affected.
No room for maneuver
In this very capitalist market of supply and demand (and much less humanistic of good understanding), tenants do not weigh heavily in the balance. As tenants, we no longer have any negotiating power with the owners, very little room for maneuver, no ” leverage ”, seasoned negotiators from the ruthless business world will tell us.
And many owners want their tenants to leave so that they can substantially increase the rent, “finally bring it to market price”. Screw the TAL rules! To hell with the old rent paid! Do you sincerely believe that this little mention, at the bottom of a lease page, changes something in the reality of the market? Oh come on. It’s the jungle, we tell you! It is the law of the strongest and, above all, of the highest bidder. Yes, bidding wars have existed in the rental market for a very long time. Come to town! For years now, visits to very modest accommodation, even in pitiful condition, have turned into auctions, and it has found itself rented immediately to the highest bidder.
Moreover, several owners now do not respect any rules. They go there by smell, smell and feeling. Like Madame X, who increased her rents by 80% in one go. What ? Are you complaining? Do you dare to demand something, information from the owner? Well, it’s simple, we’re going to rent the place to someone else.
And it is clear, for tenants, that we must not count on the apathetic Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, to find viable solutions, come to the aid of tenants, or even understand the urgency of the situation. And for the much-hoped-for empathy and humanism, come back in a few years, when all these business-minded CAQ ministers will have left the mine site.
What exactly does it mean to have rich upstarts as elected officials? Prosperous owners who live comfortably far from reality and the challenges of tenants? What does it mean, in fact, to have ministers who understand nothing about the survival of some or the security of others?
Can people and fabulous “managers” who have never had one themselves in life really be the best at making informed decisions if they do not know the reality on the ground while staying far away, very far, from the cow floor?
In this context of endless crisis, again this year, it is not easy for tenants to negotiate with a landlord. Or even to have anything repaired in an apartment. “Aren’t you happy?” Sacrifice your camp! » Tenants no longer have any room for maneuver in the rental market, in addition to experiencing a lot of pressure, even intimidation, to leave.
And like a small Gallic village, there are several of us tenants who are desperately clinging to an execrable lease, to housing that no longer suits our needs, in short, to holding the torch of a meager resistance, with fear in our stomachs, the anxiety in the carpet and anxiety rising to the ceiling.