The Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, said she was sorry to have seemed insensitive with her remarks of the last few days in connection with her desire to tackle the assignment of leases.
“You can’t use a right that isn’t yours, to assign a lease to someone else, on terms you decide when it’s not your building. The tenant who wants to do that, he has to invest in real estate and take the risks that go with it, ”she said earlier this week in an interview with Noovo.
On Wednesday, the minister returned to this assertion at a press briefing. “I’m sorry if that seemed insensitive. I was in a legal and economic description of things. On the contrary, I am very sensitive to what is happening in terms of housing, ”she defended herself.
If Bill 31 is adopted, a landlord whose tenant wants to assign his lease can simply refuse his request and terminate it. Currently, a serious reason is required. Assignment of lease is used by some tenants to limit rent increases.
No change to the bill
Despite her act of contrition, the minister maintains the line. “This is not to take away a right from tenants. […] The idea is that the tenant does not choose the next tenant to come and occupy the premises. It’s up to the owner to make that determination and decide who they want to legally bind themselves with next,” she explained.
This aspect of the bill has been roundly criticized in recent days.
Mme Duranceau says she is not surprised by the negative reactions provoked by her legislative piece and hopes that the summer season will allow the subject to be debated. “Clearly, we are changing a lot of things, things that we had not touched for 40 years. It’s causing a stir, but I think it will be for the best, ”she said.
The bill also provides that the owners of new dwellings will have to indicate in the lease the maximum amount of rent for the next five years. Clause F — which already exists in the lease — allows owners of such dwellings to raise rents without being subject to the scale of the Administrative Housing Tribunal. The purpose of this change is to give tenants more predictability.
The eagerly awaited government bill was tabled last Friday, the last day of the parliamentary session.