Tenants were taken into care by the Red Cross due to sanitation problems linked to the poor state of their housing in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, while the owner refused to carry out emergency repairs.
Piping problems mean that it literally rains in apartment 1 at 3401 Sherbrooke Street East.
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The situation is so critical that the Red Cross had to intervene to relocate this family of 7 tenants to hotel rooms.
As this emergency assistance expires, the tenants criticize the owner for neglecting emergency work despite their rent which is around $1,800 per month.
TVA Nouvelles went to the accommodation in question on Sunday and discovered that when the faucet of the bathtub of the apartment located above was opened, water instantly invaded the bathroom of the apartment. ground floor.
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According to the tenants, who do not wish to reveal their identity, this situation has continued for months.
They contacted the owner of the premises on numerous occasions to warn him of the urgency of the situation, the latter allegedly did nothing, while the tenants even began to experience various health problems due to the unsanitary conditions of their accommodation. .
“It’s disgusting,” says a tenant. At night it flows. It smells like sewers and because of that my boy and my son got sick.”
In addition to infiltration problems, there are repairs to be made to the floor, among other things.
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There is only one light fixture in the ceiling and the tenants say they have connected lamps to their unit’s electricity in order to have lighting in the evening.
As for the owner of the premises, he did not respond to TVA Nouvelles’ call.
The family who lives in the accommodation, which is made up of parents, their children and friends, is a recipient of social assistance.
Despite their precarious status, they claim to pay their rent every month without being late.
They say they are researching moving elsewhere, but according to them, owners who have housing to rent would not want to rent to people with very low incomes.
See the full explanation in the video above