Tenants consumed by worry

“Above all, don’t sign anything!” »

This is the main advice from lawyer Manuel Johnson, who addresses the thirty tenants gathered in a room in the city center, a stone’s throw from the two buildings on rue du Fort, where they live. Buildings where 140 tenants live, which Henry Zavriyev purchased last December, and which constitute one of the most expensive acquisitions in his portfolio: $26.5 million.

Less than two months after the purchase, efforts to try to convince tenants to terminate their lease are well underway. In the room, there are young people, old people, immigrants, native Quebecers. Everyone is consumed by worry about losing their homes. “You are here because you are worried about the purchase. And you are right, says M^e Johnson, who represents many tenants evicted by Mr. Zavriyev. Because you may not know it, but you are sitting on a gold mine! »

For every $100 increase in rent, the new owner adds $10,000 to $15,000 in value to his building, says M^e Johnson. According to the lawyer, it is this mechanism which has made Henry Zavriyev’s financial success. Starting with the purchase of a rooming house in 2017, which he paid for in cash, renovated, then re-rented, the speculator effectively built a small real estate empire (see other text).

According to the calculations of The Press, Mr. Zavriyev purchased in seven years for 197 million in rental properties throughout Quebec, a figure that he himself confirmed to us. However, he refuses to reveal how many tenants agreed to sign lease terminations following these purchases.

“One of our company’s niches consists of acquiring buildings in dire need of renovations and starting the process to carry them out. Where applicable, private agreements are systematically offered to our tenants, who have the free choice to accept them or not,” he replied to us by email.

The 30-year-old developer has resold some of these buildings acquired over the years, but he still owns nearly thirty properties, paid a total of 146 million between 2019 and last month. In Montreal, Quebec and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, these properties represent at least 610 housing units.

The “Zavriyev technique”, which is based on an agreement between the owner and his tenants, is legal, explained lawyer Manuel Johnson in an interview with The Press in December. “There are big profits to be made quickly; the law and regulations allow it. And as long as the law allows it, it will continue. »

Making “doors” profitable

In front of the tenants of rue du Fort, solidarity MP Manon Massé urges them to resist their eviction. Henry Zavriyev, she thunders, “he is the king of speculation, the speculator in chief of Quebec. He has no regard for what goes on behind the doors. All he cares about is buying doors.”

And to make these “doors” profitable, it is necessary at all costs to evict the former tenants who pay low rent, she denounces. Tenants like Muguette Payette, who has lived at 1180 rue du Fort for 29 years. “It’s a good neighborhood. I know everyone and we help each other. »

M^me Payette is 72 years old, walks with difficulty using two canes, and has a very low income of $25,000 a year. In theory, it corresponds to all the criteria of the law adopted by the former spokesperson for Québec solidaire Françoise David to prevent the eviction of seniors. It was therefore, in theory, impossible to oust him.

But after the holidays, when Mr. Zavriyev’s employees came knocking on her door, they claimed the building would be condemned, she said. That everyone had to leave. “According to them, everyone had signed. I felt like I had no choice. I told them: “You will tell your boss that he has no heart”. » Feeling backed into a corner, M^me Payette signed.

She currently pays $574 per month for a studio apartment.

With the help of the Ville-Marie housing committee and M^e Johnson, she wishes to contest his signature, since she believes she was not adequately informed.

“Our tenants have access, like all citizens, to all the necessary information before making their decision,” replies Henry Zavriyev, who answered our questions by email. Several tenants in our buildings have refused to enter into agreements and remain occupants of their accommodation. This is a fundamental right that we will continue to respect. »

Other tenants actually refuse to sign the lease termination notice. Ivan, whose first name we have changed at his request since he fears reprisals from the owner, says he will fight until the end. In January, “without any warning,” the water was cut off in his home for 11 days, he says. “And since the building is heated with hot water, it was very cold,” adds one of his neighbors, an elderly man with white hair. “Several tenants signed after this episode. »

“Information was sent regularly to tenants and daily steps were taken to find a plumber available to carry out the work as quickly as possible,” says Mr. Zavriyev.

Awatif, a student and single mother of two children, was offered $6,600 to leave. “They told us we had to leave before the 1st^er July is an obligation. There was no option. » Despite everything, she did not sign. “We felt that people were afraid in the building. I act, but I’m afraid. »

Buildings in several cities

The tenants on Rue du Fort are only the latest in a long list of tenants who risk being evicted from Mr. Zavriyev’s properties, from Villeray to Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, via Montreal-North, Quebec, Longueuil and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

Last December, we reported the story of 4790 rue Sainte-Catherine Est, a building purchased by Henry Zavriyev, then ravaged by a fire – caused by tools used in the renovation – and finally by a major flood. Evacuated twice, almost all the tenants ended up leaving. There are only two left: Michel Séguin and Daniel Bernier.

However, last week, yet another flood caused a new evacuation of the building. On site, firefighters noted “totally inadequate” work.

“The borough filed complaints with the CNESST (safety of workers and the site), the CCQ (site conditions and qualification of workers) and the RBQ (license and behavior of the contractor, as well as for work carried out inside which we consider totally inadequate),” specifies Julie Bellemare, spokesperson for the district. After experiencing six months of ordeal, the tenants will finally be relocated permanently by the district.

Read our file on 4790, rue Sainte-Catherine Est, “The tenants’ ordeal”

Henry Zavriyev made headlines for the first time at the beginning of 2022, a few months after the purchase of the Mont-Carmel residence, which caused a stir, since some of the tenants chose to fight against the developer. The case is still before the courts. But this high-profile case has overshadowed many places, including other seniors’ residences, where the speculator proceeded in exactly the same way.

Like at Château Beaurivage, a large seniors’ residence in Montreal North which has three towers and nearly 500 housing units. Nicole Blanchard’s mother lived there. The 92-year-old had to undergo two moves in a matter of months, courtesy of Leyad, one of Henry Zavriyev’s companies. The developer purchased the complex around the same time as the Mont-Carmel residence.

The owner first gathered the elderly people in one of the buildings, forcing an initial move, then permanently evicted them a few months later, in 2023. “It was done in a very cavalier manner. They said to themselves: they’re just old people, they won’t remember! But my mother’s condition really deteriorated because she was so stressed, relates M^me Blanchard. His memory declined dramatically. »