The Plante administration has called on Montreal housing owners to be “reasonable” in the rent increase that they will send shortly.
Benoit Dorais, responsible for Housing on Mayor Plante’s executive committee, also suggested that tenants in the metropolis be well informed about their rights and not hesitate to contact the Administrative Housing Tribunal if necessary. .
“We have to be reasonable,” said Mr. Dorais, specifying that this request did not only apply to this year. “Of course if you do renovations, it’s expensive. Of course there was an increase in property taxes. Of course there is inflation. I know. But they can use the Administrative Housing Tribunal tool to calculate what is reasonable. »
“In the current context, some might be tempted to be a little heavy-handed and to make rent increases a little higher than what is recommended,” he added. “The message is that we understand that there are many things that are increasing, but you have to be reasonable. »
The average property tax increase of 4.9% for Montreal residential properties in 2024 should not be replicated by owners. “Let’s not mix the numbers,” asked Mr. Dorais, at a press briefing at Montreal city hall. “It’s too easy for any Quebec owner […] to invoke the fact that he has a “big tax increase” to make a “big rent increase”. » Moreover, the tax increase decided this fall, “was the lowest we could. It was reasonable,” he said, noting that several other large Quebec cities had far exceeded this threshold.
The City of Montreal is starting an advertising campaign in several languages on the radio these days to inform tenants of their rights, in collaboration with several players in the housing world. “We want to reach as many people as possible,” he said. “We are a city of tenants, we are a people of tenants in Quebec. »