More than 2,500 tenants of private seniors’ residences have been evicted in one year, revealed Wednesday the Quebec Association of Retirees from the Public and Parapublic Sectors (AQRP). Montreal and Quebec are the two cities most affected by these evictions.
The AQRP national survey took place from 1er October 2022 to 1er September 2023, throughout Quebec. During this period, there were 88 closures of private residences for seniors (RPA), indicates the AQRP in a press release.
A quarter of the affected residents, or 607 tenants in total, were in the Montreal region. The CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal recorded 148 evictions, that of the West-Island-of-Montreal, 347, and that of the North-Island- de-Montreal has 160 affected tenants, specifies the AQRP.
The two other CIUSSS in the metropolis did not respond to the AQRP survey.
In the Capitale-Nationale region, nearly 607 tenants were also evicted from their RPA.
“It is unacceptable that our seniors who are vulnerable and sometimes struggling with health problems find themselves without housing,” denounced the provincial president of the AQRP, Paul-René Roy, in the press release. The Minister responsible for Housing must include a clause in her Bill 31 which prohibits evictions in private residences for seniors,” he believes.
Evictions for several reasons
Several causes can lead to the closure of an RPA or the eviction of its tenants. The financial difficulties of owners are one of the most frequent, reports the AQRP in a practical guide published last June.
“RPA owners feel strangled by their obligations. The pandemic has exhausted employees,” we read in this guide. The requirement to provide more care and install sprinklers, despite the government assistance program, adds to the burden.
Another reason is that seniors live a long time in the same housing, which means that their rent prices are low, points out the AQRP. “This encourages landlords to target this clientele to use eviction tactics, fraudulent or legitimate, to increase the cost of rent between two tenants for profit purposes,” believes the Association.
Over the last five years, 473 RPAs have closed across the province, lists the AQRP in the same document. The vast majority, 90% of them, had fewer than 30 units. They were also found in small communities.
Measures requested
The AQRP is calling for several measures to curb the closures of RPAs and the eviction of tenants. In her practical guide, she recommends a moratorium on evictions and the transformation of RPAs into community housing.
The AQRP also denounces Bill 31 of the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, which plans to increase the financial compensation provided in the event of eviction, from 3 months to 24 months, rather than preventing evictions.
“This legislative proposal risks having harmful consequences on the well-being of residents in RPA, forcing them to move and exposing them to psychological after-effects such as loss of taste for living and the feeling of uprooting,” underlines Paul- René Roy in the press release.
According to the Association, Bill 31 should contain a clause specific to RPA. According to this clause, “if RPA owners wish to convert these residences into standard rental housing, they should do so in good faith. The clause would stipulate that the essential condition would be that this conversion falls within the framework of the Quebec Affordable Housing Program in order to increase the supply of affordable housing,” proposes the AQRP.
“The objective of this proposal is to allow seniors to remain in their residence, to age at home, without fear of being victims of eviction,” adds Mr. Roy.