“The worst case I have seen in ten years”

Mathieu Valade removes the tarpaulin hanging from the ceiling of his bathroom. Upon entering the bathtub, you can see the gaping hole in the ceiling, which collapsed on November 17 following yet another flood.

In footage shot that day, we first see a hole forming in the bathroom ceiling. A video shot the next day shows the extent of the damage as well as the source of the water damage, in the apartment located upstairs.

Since September 7, Mathieu and his roommate, Jean-François Gagnon, have been evacuated from their accommodation twice. The first time, following a fire. The second, after a major flood. In their apartment, the air is so full of humidity that it is difficult to breathe.

Mathieu Valade has decided to sue his owner before the Administrative Housing Tribunal. His lawyers had an air test carried out at his home. The conclusion of the Air Saphir firm, specializing in the assessment of air quality, is clear. “The analyzes revealed contamination in the air in the apartment. This contamination represents a danger for the occupants. »

Would you live in this accommodation? Surely not. However, according to inspectors from the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, the apartment occupied by the two roommates was considered habitable until a call from The Press, on November 28. Just like the homes of the four other tenants who still live at 4790 rue Sainte-Catherine Est.

Myrtha Guirand, in apartment 11, has been coughing non-stop since the major flood in October. After a visit to the emergency room, she was sent to see a pulmonologist. Michel Séguin, in apartment 29, has to use a bathroom whose walls are covered with mold and whose toilet does not work. At the end of November, Dominic Deslandes, in apartment 5, also saw his bathroom ceiling collapse. “Half the ceiling is missing. It’s major. »

No, 4790 rue Sainte-Catherine is not a palace, and it never was. The tenants are very vulnerable, sometimes suffering from mental disorders, drug users or ex-inmates. But their living space has deteriorated significantly since the building was purchased in August by the Roxbury Capitale company, owned by developer Henry Zavriyev (see other text).

We tried multiple times to contact Mr. Zavriyev’s representative, David Mimoun. He did not respond to our requests.

Few infraction reports

The district is well aware of the problems. Firefighters have been called to the site nine times since September, the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) tells us. As of November 28, there have been a total of 16 visits by inspectors, 64 inspections and 7 notices given to the owner. And yet, for more than two months, the owner received no notice of violation. It was not until November 10 that the first fine was issued, of $1,667, for work not carried out in apartment 2.

On November 27, a second report was drawn up, and the next day, after an appeal from The Press at the borough, a third report was produced, also for $1,667. The firefighters, alerted by a fire alarm, noticed that important work was being carried out without a permit.

Between September and December, only one unit in the building was declared uninhabitable. After being evacuated twice following disasters, the tenants always had to return to their homes. For what ? “I have an email from a tenant who begs me not to declare the building unsanitary,” replies Radia Zatout, the inspector in the file. M^me Zatout is convinced that she did the best she could so that the tenants could avoid being evicted.

The Regional Public Health Department was eventually alerted. Public Health doctors are currently carrying out an “expertise” in housing that is still occupied, indicates Jean-Nicolas Aubé, spokesperson for the DRSP. Sources specify The Press that asbestos was discovered in the walls.

The situation at 4790 outrages Annie Lapalme, from the Entraide-logement organization, which works in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. “It’s almost total impunity for the owner. Meanwhile, he is renovating, with permits, and he is preparing to rent them, probably much more expensively. We make the task much easier for renovators. The district knew the situation, they let it happen, it made the evictions easier,” says M.^me The Palm.

Over the years, Annie Lapalme has worked in other housing committees, including Côte-des-Neiges and Verdun. She has never seen such passivity from a district. “This is the worst case I have seen in ten years. »

“Our approach is not to provide findings,” retorts Christine Harrisson, head of the permits and inspections division at the borough. These owners have so much money that they say: send them to me, your findings! » The district’s goal, she argues, was to “put pressure” so that the work is carried out and the tenants can return to their homes as quickly as possible.

“This is one of the worst cases we have experienced in the borough, a perfect storm,” adds the mayor of the borough, Pierre Lessard-Blais. It was well managed by our services, within the powers we have. But it remains a human tragedy. »

Prisoners of their logement

Of the fifteen tenants occupying in August, only six remained at the beginning of December. Some of them have reached an agreement with the owner, and will have to leave in March. They would like to escape their building, but can’t find anything they can afford.

“I am a survivor,” summarizes Myrtha Guirand. She pays $640 for her two and a half. “Now, when I look for accommodation, it’s twice as expensive. » After the disasters, she applied for emergency housing. “But it was canceled because the city told us to move back into the building. » Michel Séguin agrees. “What I would like is an HLM. »

Tenants evacuated from unsanitary buildings are entitled to emergency HLM if they meet the criteria of the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal, the organization’s communications director, Mathieu Vachon, first assured us. “Under no circumstances can the OMHM guarantee a permanent place in HLM the day after a disaster,” Laurent Richer Beaulieu, chief of staff of the district mayor, subsequently told us after consulting the management of the district. ‘OMHM.

Are the tenants of 4790 therefore prisoners of their accommodation?

This scenario is occurring more and more often with the housing crisis, observes Doctor Stéphane Perron, public health specialist, who works as a clinician at the CHUM.

As for Mathieu Valade and Jean-François Gagnon, at the time of writing these lines, the hole and the tarpaulin were still in their bathroom. A week after the flood, they went to meet the district’s chief inspector, Patrick Roy, and recorded the conversation. “Would you take a shower in there? It’s scary when we take a shower! », Launched Jean-François Gagnon.

“Our role is to issue permits,” Patrick Roy replied. The inspector, in your case, goes beyond what she should do. You must understand the limits of our intervention. »

At the end of November, after a call from The Press to the borough, the owner finally offered to relocate Mathieu Valade and Jean-François Gagnon elsewhere in the building.