{"id":143459,"date":"2025-09-14T14:11:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T14:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/143459\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T14:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T14:11:13","slug":"montrealers-rally-against-caq-draft-rent-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/143459\/","title":{"rendered":"Montrealers rally against CAQ draft rent regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tenants are taking to the streets across Quebec on Saturday, calling for the rejection of proposed changes to how rent increases are calculated. Demonstrations are happening in Amos, Sainte-Ad\u00e8le and Joliette, and in Montreal at the Saint-Henri m\u00e9tro station.<\/p>\n

Protesters are demanding a new regulation that guarantees \u2018real rent control\u2019, an absolute cap on annual rent increases, and a requirement for landlords to apply to the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) to justify any increase above the fixed rate.<\/p>\n

\"\"People protesting in Montreal against proposed changes to how rent increases are calculated, on Sept. 13, 2025. (Lola Kalder, CityNews) <\/p>\n

\u00a0They are also calling for the creation of a free, public rent registry that would allow tenants to view the history of rent prices and major renovations, and for a freeze on rents until a fair new regulation is in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re demanding the complete withdrawal of the regulation bill and we\u2019re also demanding a freeze on rents,\u201d said No\u00e9mie Beauvais, a community organizer with the Regroupement des comit\u00e9s logement et associations de locataires du Qu\u00e9bec (RCLALQ). \u201cThis new rent calculation method will just boost the prices of rents over the next few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The protests are taking place just ahead of the tabling of a petition by RCLALQ at the National Assembly, which has been signed by 12,041 people.<\/p>\n

The regulation introduced by former Housing Minister France-H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Duranceau would reduce the number of variables used to calculate annual rent increases from 13 to four. The changes, published in Quebec\u2019s Official Gazette<\/a> in April 2025, were presented as a way to make the process simpler and more predictable.<\/p>\n

\"\"People protesting in Montreal against proposed changes to how rent increases are calculated, on Sept. 13, 2025. (Lola Kalder, CityNews) <\/p>\n

But housing advocates warn the change could open the door to higher increases, since the new calculation is tied to the Quebec Price Index \u2014 with rents themselves being one of the main drivers of inflation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that the new calculations will mean higher rent increases than what\u2019s already happening,\u201d said Carl Lafreni\u00e8re, a community organizer with housing rights group FRAPRU. \u201cThe housing crisis is already hard for tenants, especially low-income tenants, and a lot of people here don\u2019t even know if they\u2019ll be able to pay rent next month.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to RCLALQ, if this system had been in place for 2025, TAL would have recommended a 4.5 per cent increase, compared to the record 5.9 per cent average rent hike already observed.<\/p>\n

\"\"People protesting in Montreal against proposed changes to how rent increases are calculated, on Sept. 13, 2025. (Lola Kalder, CityNews) <\/p>\n

For many tenants, the concerns are personal. \u201cAll of my friends, like everyone I know who\u2019s renting, it\u2019s super hard,\u201d said Mirren, who lives in NDG. \u201cYou\u2019re constantly having to compromise with very aggressive landlords.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Verdun, Rosalie B\u00e9langer-Rious said the proposed regulation leaves tenants feeling powerless. \u201cWe have no power against our landlords, against the government and the laws they\u2019re putting forward,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard to find a place you can afford. You always have to fight against the increases and try to find solidarity somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert McDonald, a tenant in Saint-Henri, said affordability has become increasingly out of reach. \u201cIt\u2019s really unaffordable \u2014 there\u2019s no solution,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need government investment in housing, we need government investment in non-profit housing. I\u2019m pretty old, but I worry mostly about people who are younger than me, and what the hell they\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The debate also comes amid political changes. Following Quebec\u2019s cabinet shuffle on Sept. 10, Sonia B\u00e9langer has been named the new minister responsible for housing. Duranceau has been appointed president of the Treasury Board and minister responsible for government administration and public service efficiency.<\/p>\n

Beauvais said she hopes B\u00e9langer will be more receptive to tenant concerns. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping she\u2019s going to hear us and maybe be a little more sensitive towards the realities of renters,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tenant groups are urging the new minister to scrap the regulation altogether, warning that it will only deepen the housing affordability crisis across Quebec.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tenants are taking to the streets across Quebec on Saturday, calling for the rejection of proposed changes to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143460,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-143459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}