The announcement of a three-year moratorium on evictions, included in the new bill from the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, will bring “great relief for a lot of people”, say tenants already threatened of eviction, who however still do not know what fate awaits them.
“It’s a very good decision. I’m really happy for the people who are going to experience the same situation as me,” says Réjeanne Bellemare, who received an eviction notice for reasons of expansion on December 23, just before Christmas.
Aged 64, this resident of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has lived in her home for 34 years now. She has already initiated procedures with the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) with a view to her eviction scheduled for next July. “I was told with the submission of files that it could give me more time, but honestly, in the middle of the housing crisis, it’s a lot of stress, headaches, nights not sleeping,” confides -she.
According to her, the arrival of a moratorium “will prevent too many people from being evicted for nothing, living in constant worry”. However, as the moratorium only applies in principle to requests from May 22, “we will see what happens in my case,” says M.me Bellemare. “I will continue to fight, that’s for sure, but above all it feels good to see that things are evolving,” she continues.
With housing rising at crazy prices, I feel like I’m in a bind. It’s a really difficult feeling.
Réjeanne Bellemare
She is far from the only one in this situation. According to data from the most recent Homelessness Count, more than two in ten homeless people indicated that eviction from their housing led to their homelessness, making it the main tipping point onto the streets in 2022.
In Saguenay, Marc, who prefers to withhold his last name for fear of reprisals, is also threatened with eviction. “With landlords not even seeming to know the rules, it really felt like the government was leaving us at their mercy until now. This will be a great relief for a lot of people,” he notes.
“In fact, it will slow down something that was really heading towards mass homelessness in my eyes. I personally felt threatened and saw myself in the street. And I can tell you that this is the case for a lot of people, so to see that is reassuring in the short term,” adds Marc.
The community sector is demanding more
For the spokesperson for the Popular Action Front in Urban Redevelopment (FRAPRU), Véronique Laflamme, it is also important to welcome the progress. That said, the fact that “housing repossessions are not included in the moratorium” still worries its organization dedicated to protecting tenants’ rights.
The legislative text of the Minister of Housing in fact prohibits evictions to “subdivide a dwelling, substantially enlarge it or change its use” for a period of three years. An owner who would like to take over housing for his family will, however, still be authorized to do so.
“The number of requests submitted to the court for repossessions is currently greater than that for evictions for subdivision, expansion and change of use,” says Ms. Laflamme.
If there is a moratorium only for evictions, we risk seeing repossessions under false grounds increase.
Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for FRAPRU
According to her, “any repossession or eviction of housing should be subject to control by the Administrative Housing Tribunal, and the landlord should be obliged to provide proof that he has carried out the project”. “Evictions or fraudulent housing repossessions would thus be further discouraged. We would also make sure to permanently prevent certain evictions […] practiced only for profit, after the end of the moratorium,” she says.
Annie Lapalme, community organizer for Entraide logement Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, is of the same opinion. “We welcome the measure, even if we think it comes very late. This will close a gap through which many evictions occur, but it is not enough to stop the bleeding. »
“The owners are quite imaginative and use several parallel strategies to achieve their ends. Often, if they do not succeed with renoviction, they will use housing repossession. The real measure that would protect against all evictions would be rent control,” concludes M.me The Palm.