Two painters who have lived for thirty years in housing that also serves as their studio in an industrial building in the Mile-Ex district are fighting before the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) to obtain the right to remain in the premises. One of the two elderly tenants is also protected from eviction by law, while the owner justifies having to empty these two dwellings to enlarge them and change their vocation. However, he has not yet obtained a permit from the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie to carry out this work, noted The duty.
In 1992, when Frances Foster moved with more than a dozen other artists into a vacant industrial building to live and paint there, the neighborhood where she still lives thirty years later was far from being the the upscale sector it is today, prized by artificial intelligence companies, microbreweries and trendy cafés. At the time, it was more of a poor, outlying district, where garages and factories followed one another, she recalls.
Today, the neighborhood looks great, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find accommodation there, especially for low-income households. Frances Foster and her neighbor Trevor Goring continue to pay monthly rents of $660 and $690 respectively for accommodation in two large apartments in a former three-story print shop, where a few businesses also rent commercial space. These are rents several hundred dollars below the market average for this sector.
On November 10, the two artists however received an eviction notice requiring that they each leave their accommodation at the end of their lease, scheduled for next May. The owner of the building on rue Saint-Zotique Ouest, a numbered company run by businessman Sheldon Mintzberg, indicates in the notice that he must empty these two dwellings to carry out expansion work and change of use of these in order to make them commercial or industrial spaces.
“Where in Montreal can you find rent like that? “says M.me Foster, who turns 65 next April. “It’s my affordable housing. If I can’t stay here, where will I go? “, adds the lady, shaken by the prospect of having to leave this large accommodation that she cherishes. Around her, plants rub shoulders with numerous paintings that the Montrealer has produced over the years. It is because this accommodation with large windows, well maintained but poorly insulated, also serves as a gallery for him to exhibit his works when potential buyers visit him. “I need a place to do my art”, insists the artist with a modest income and a frank outlook.
Other artists who have been living in the same building for years have also received an eviction notice in recent months. Frances Foster and Trevor Goring are, however, the only ones to contest their eviction notice before the TAL, the others having agreed to leave the premises in exchange for financial compensation.
Frances Foster has also fought for ten years with other residents in favor of the creation of a green space worthy of the name on the site of the Parc des Gorilles, a few minutes walk from her home. . Although this new development should finally see the light of day in 2024, she doubts that she can still afford to live in this neighborhood she cherishes if she does not succeed in having her eviction overturned. However, “I don’t see myself living anywhere else,” she confides.
No permit
In documents filed in evidence at the TAL, lawyer Julien Delangie deplores a lack of clarity as to the exact nature of the project that the owner wishes to carry out in these two dwellings. He also challenges the validity of the eviction notices sent to Frances Foster and Trevor Goring, whom he represents.
“And even if the notice were valid, the owner must prove that he has obtained his permits, that they are valid and that his requests for change of use of the dwelling and expansion are justified”, underlines the lawyer in interview at Homework. “We have to prove that we have a credible project, that we have the financial means to do it and that we have required the services of a contractor to carry out the work,” he adds.
The borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie has however confirmed by email that it has not received any permit request from the owner for these two dwellings in the last twelve months.
Reached by telephone, the owner, Sheldon Mintzberg, who owns several commercial buildings in Montreal, did not wish to justify why he has not yet applied for a permit concerning the work he plans to carry out in these two dwellings. “It’s coming in front of the [Tribunal administratif du logement] and I guess you’ll be able to get both sides of that story there. I don’t think I want to elaborate now,” Mr. Mintzberg said.
On the other hand, he promised that generous financial compensation would be granted to the two tenants so that they leave the premises and that the current occupants will have all the time necessary to find new accommodation. “I won’t tell you anything more [sinon] that we are extremely fair with them and that they will benefit financially and have time to find another place, ”he assured the Homework.
Protected by law
However, documents filed with the TAL by Me Delangie in anticipation of a hearing that could take place early next year mention that Trevor Goring is protected from attempts to evict and repossess housing under article 1959.1 of the Civil Code of Quebec. In the vast majority of cases, the law guarantees the right to remain in the premises of tenants aged 70 and over who have lived in the same dwelling for more than 10 years and who are on a low income. Mr. Goring meets all of these criteria, according to his lawyer.
“Increasingly, landlords are refusing artists who want to live in their creative space. We’ll never find something like that, that’s for sure,” sighs Mr. Goring in an interview. According to him, evictions like the one that awaits him, “it really tears the fabric of the community”.