The City of Montreal and several other municipalities in Quebec deplore the fact that the Legault government is slow to legislate in terms of controlling the evictions of tenants, which are increasing as the 1er July, and chooses to throw the ball to them instead.
“I don’t want to argue with the minister, but at some point she has the ability to create a rent register and she can change the Civil Code, but she doesn’t do it”, launched Thursday at the To have to the head of housing on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, Benoit Dorais.
The elected official reacted to remarks made last Friday by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, during a debate in the National Assembly. Questioned by the solidarity deputy Andrés Fontecilla on the lack of actions taken by Quebec in terms of controlling fraudulent evictions of tenants, Ms.me Laforest challenged the cities.
“In Montreal, there are boroughs that immediately decided to determine […] if we could continue to give permits for renovations or change of assignment or division, ”she recalled. This is particularly the case for the Sud-Ouest and Verdun boroughs. Thus, “the municipalities can take care of managing the new allocations in housing,” argued the minister. She then assured that “work” on amendments to the Civil Code of Quebec was underway, without detailing these.
The ability of cities to regulate in this matter is however limited, insists Mr. Dorais, since the Civil Code explicitly provides for the right to evict tenants to subdivide, enlarge or change the assignment of a dwelling. Thus, when boroughs want to go further than the current regulations, “our lawyers tell us no,” says Mr. Dorais.
“What it takes is consistency across Quebec. And it cannot be up to the cities to manage this on a case-by-case basis, ”also notes the mayor of Mascouche, Guillaume Tremblay, who believes that Quebec has a “responsibility” in this regard. Thus, even if it is the cities that grant the building permits, “it is the responsibility of Quebec” to ensure that the tenants “are protected” from evictions, also argued the mayor of Rimouski, Guy Caron , interviewed this week.
Concretely, Quebec could for example systematically deploy inspectors to check, after the departure of the tenants, that the emptied dwellings have indeed been emptied for reasons provided for in the law – and not for speculative purposes – , analyzes Martin Gallié , professor at UQAM and specialist in housing law. “If we imposed a tax control of repossessions and an inspection mechanism […]maybe we would have a little less illegal evictions, ”he says.
Joined by The duty Thursday, Andrée Laforest’s cabinet assured that the minister did not want to “throw the ball back to the cities” last week. “The Minister simply underlined the powers available to municipalities and boroughs under the Act respecting land use planning and development,” said her press attaché, Bénédicte Trottier Lavoie, in writing.
An incomplete balance sheet
Before the National Assembly, Minister Laforest also seemed to minimize the role of evictions for expansion, subdivision or change of assignment in the current housing crisis, referring to the 286 cases on the matter introduced in one year before the Tribunal. Housing Administration (TAL). However “the judicial data do not reflect the cases of evictions and takeovers”, raises Mr. Gallié, since many files are settled amicably.
Minister Laforest “takes refuge behind the figures when we know that the majority of tenants who suffer these attempts do not go to the TAL”, added Andrés Fontecilla for his part when contacted Thursday.
Three moving companies operating in Montreal also say they have seen an increase in the number of requests for quotes from tenants threatened with eviction.
“We expected a decrease in the number of moves and, finally, we have more moves reserved than last year and the previous year”, notes the co-owner of Déménagement Le Clan Panneton, Pierre- Olivier Cyr. The latter also reports a “new phenomenon”: tenants who are victims of evictions represent approximately 40% of the requests for tenders that he has received in recent months.
“It’s a sad thing. We see people who are a bit lost, who don’t know where they are going. They will have to change their school children, leave their neighborhood, ”sighs the owner of the mover Le Plan pas con, Philippe Gredin, who says he sees the same thing.
Data provided to To have to by the Office municipal de l’habitation de Montréal mention that, since the beginning of the year, 21 of the 114 requests received from low-income households needing help to relocate are related to evictions for “subdivisions and renovations”, i.e. 18%. Forty-two of these requests relate to evictions “for behavior and non-payment”, while 19 others relate to “repossessions”.