After fighting for two years against an eviction attempt, the elderly tenants of the Mont-Carmel residence can claim victory, since the building’s vocation as a private residence for seniors (RPA) will ultimately be maintained. However, residents continue to fight before the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) to denounce the “insecurity” they experience in this building and obtain compensation of more than $1.7 million.
On March 12, the owner of the premises, Henry Zavriyev, sent a letter to the 47 residents who currently occupy housing benefiting from services for seniors in this building, which has 216 apartments. He then announced to them his decision to maintain the allocation of their accommodation and to “continue to offer the same level of services as in recent years, for the foreseeable future”. An intention that Mr. Zavriyev confirmed in an email to Duty Tuesday.
“We understand and recognize that the announcement of the conversion of the residence into an apartment building, in February 2022, raised concerns and strong reactions from several residents. Their concerns, combined with an evaluation of the entire file, made us review our approach and motivate our decision,” indicates the owner. The latter also assures that he wants to “restore the climate of serenity” in this building, “which has, quite unintentionally, been undermined over the last two years”.
Mr. Zavriyev, who owns dozens of buildings in the metropolis, acquired the Mont-Carmel residence in December 2021 for the sum of $40 million.
The deed of sale mentioned that the RPA vocation of this building, which then had only elderly tenants, had to be maintained by the buyer. However, in January 2022, all tenants of the building received a notice mentioning that the building would lose its RPA vocation from 1er August of the same year to become a traditional rental complex. Residents who decide to stay in place would then see their rent increase by 3%, in addition to losing access to several services, such as the presence of a “panic button” in the rooms and an auxiliary nurse at all. time.
A partial victory
Since then, this residence has seen many of its tenants aged 65 and over move out and be replaced by new, younger tenants.
Dozens of senior residents, however, decided to help each other and fight in court to denounce this attempted eviction, which was notably the subject of a decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal, which overturned that this file fell under the TAL.
The letter sent last week by Henry Zavriyev, however, puts an end to the challenge to the eviction notices that he had sent to his tenants more than two years ago, confirmed to Duty one of the tenants’ lawyers, Julien Delangie.
“It was a big surprise, mixed with joy and doubt,” notes tenant Marie-Paule Lebel, who is not yet at the end of her troubles. “For the people who are still at the TAL, it is a victory, but so partial, with so many negotiations awaiting us,” continues the resident.
The elderly tenants of the Mont-Carmel residence intend in particular to demand from their landlord that the 28 elderly residents who have signed a new lease in the building under which they no longer have access to RPA services once again benefit from those -this. ” And all the others [locataires âgés] who have left and who would like to come back, too, we don’t want to let them go,” underlines Mme Lebel, who notes that the majority of the building’s new tenants are not seniors.
“We notice that security is deteriorating more and more. Not a week goes by without having to call the police,” emphasizes Marie-Paule Lebel.
Comments corroborated by the tenant Normand Breault, aged 83. He has lived in the Mont-Carmel residence for eight years. “When I came here, I was at home in my apartment, but I could walk around the entire building at any time of the day. This is no longer the case,” sighs Mr. Breault, who associates the deterioration of the feeling of security in this building with the lack of surveillance of entries and exits made at the building’s reception. “People enter here like they enter the Central Station,” he says.
The legal saga continues
In a request initiating proceedings filed last fall before the TAL, senior tenants of the Mont-Carmel residence also denounce problems of access to common areas of this building, which are poorly maintained, as are the corridors. of the building. The lawsuit also mentions the holding of “noisy gatherings” in this building, where the intercom system which allowed senior tenants to contact reception from their apartment would no longer be in operation.
“Several fire doors in the building were recently painted and, since then, no longer close tightly, thus endangering the safety of residents in the event of a fire,” the lawsuit also mentions. The 49 tenants behind it – two of whom left the building after receiving financial compensation from their landlord – are demanding a reduction in their rent, as well as compensation of $35,000 for each applicant.
A hearing date has not yet been set in this case.