Tenants have to fight in court to challenge an eviction for non-payment of rent, when in fact it was their landlord who did not collect their payment, housing lawyers report. They also note that the tactics used by landlords to get rid of long-term tenants are becoming more and more refined.
Montreal tenant Giovanni Di Sclafani, who had lived since 1967 in an apartment in the Saint-Michel district, was first the subject of a judgment by the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL), in May 2020, which ordered his eviction. for late payment of rent.
However, the case then ends up before the Court of Quebec, since the tenant contests the eviction procedure to which he is subject. “He believes that the rent arrears come from an error by the building manager, who failed to cash a check for the rent for May 2018,” said Court of Quebec judge Éric Dufour in a decision. delivered on November 12, 2020.
Thus, “as the months passed, the tenant was perpetuated in the state of debtor of the unpaid rent”, notes Judge Dufour. He thus notes that the tenant “was caught off guard by the situation” and decides in favor of his remaining in the premises.
“It seems like the landlords are saying to themselves, ‘I’m going to get rid of cheap rent and I’m going to be able to then, after a year, rent the accommodation for double, triple'” the previous rent, the lawyer said in an interview. Camille Bolté, who represented Giovanni Di Sclafani. He also specializes in eviction disputes by tenants.
“We can say that all methods are often used by landlords to try to get rid of tenants”, adds the lawyer, who notably helped a tenant to successfully challenge an eviction notice for change of assignment in 2018 A real estate company tried before the TAL to evict him for change of assignment. However, the tenant in question is protected under an article of the Civil Code of Quebec which prevents the eviction of tenants aged 70 or over with low income and who have lived in the same dwelling for more than 10 years.
“But owners will try, they will still send an eviction notice. They tell themselves that if the tenant does not know his rights, they will be able to evict him, ”says Me Bolted.
A tenant who is the subject of an eviction notice for non-payment of rent can also avoid having to leave the premises by returning the amount due to his landlord before the TAL renders its decision. Landlords then decide to collect the sums received after this deadline in order to have a reason to evict their tenant, notes Me Bolted. He observes that the tactics used by landlords to try to evict tenants are “getting more refined”.
A common practice
Two other lawyers specializing in housing law confirm that refusing to collect rent, by various means, is a practice often used by landlords to try to evict tenants. Several recent judgments consulted by The duty as shown by.
“Yes, we see that. But when the landlords do that, they knowingly refuse to collect the rent, it is often a gesture of bad faith, and we can prove it in court, ”explains lawyer Manuel Johnson.
The latter also represented last year a Montreal tenant who fought against an eviction notice for non-payment of one month’s rent. She requested anonymity because she still fears reprisals from her landlord, but The duty was able to consult all the court decisions concerning her.
Before the Court of Quebec, this tenant argued that her landlord had refused to cash two checks she had given for payment of the rent. The landlord then filed an appeal for non-payment of rent. However, a recorded discussion held by the tenant and a building manager proves that the owner was instead seeking to evict her to rent her accommodation at a higher price, indicates a decision rendered in the summer of 2021 by the Court of Quebec. .
The owner also continued to cash the tenant’s checks in the following months, which implies that he waived the right to invoke a termination of the lease, according to the court, which then ruled in favor of the tenant. The landlord then turned to the Quebec Court of Appeal to try again to evict his tenant, but he was refused.
A case that does not surprise the lawyer specializing in housing law Antoine Morneau-Sénéchal, who has seen others in his career.
“Often, the tenants will realize that either the owner does not cash the check, or he does not come to collect the rent. And I have seen many cases where the tenants have remained passive in this situation, ”he underlines in an interview. However, to avoid an eviction in this context, the tenants must be able to prove, before the TAL, that they have tried by various means to return their monthly rent to their landlord, for example by sending a formal notice explicitly claiming the owner to cash their check, explains the lawyer.
Tenants can also ask to deposit their rent directly at the TAL, after having informed their landlord, under an article of the Civil Code of Quebec, notes Mr.e Morneau-Senechal. However, they must wait a month simply to file a request in person, then wait at least three months before having a first hearing. Otherwise, the average wait time for a hearing in a landlord’s non-payment of rent case is about 1.5 months, according to TAL data.