This is Part 4 of the Gazette series Renting Montreal.<\/p>\n
Hit with a rent increase? Asked to leave an apartment to make way for renovations? <\/p>\n
Receiving such news can be destabilizing, but there are several laws in Quebec that aim to protect tenants. Not everyone knows about them, however, which can lead to tenants agreeing to changes under pressure \u2014 only to discover they had every right to decline or negotiate. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing informed is the first step to being empowered,\u201d said tenants\u2019 rights activist Lina, who sits on an advisory committee for the National Tenant Organizing Fund and runs Instagram account @tenantrightsqc<\/a>, devoted to raising public awareness about laws in Quebec. (Lina prefers to keep her last name private since she is a tenant). <\/p>\n \u201cI really want people to understand their rights,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of shady practices, unfortunately. Rents are skyrocketing, and I think we really need to \u2026 get to know our rights and work together.\u201d<\/p>\n Acknowledging that pushing back against a landlord can be daunting, Lina pointed out that tenants shouldn\u2019t feel uncomfortable for exercising their rights. <\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, you stay on good terms with your landlord \u2014 that\u2019s the best case scenario,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if they broke the law first by hiking up your rent without justification or by threatening you to sign something, you\u2019re not the one who is the problematic person in this scenario. You\u2019re just exercising your rights \u2014 rights that are there to protect you, rights that should have been followed by both the landlord and the tenant.\u201d<\/p>\n It is, of course, intimidating, \u201cbut the law does have our back,\u201d Lina said. <\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s not easy, but there is support out there, and it\u2019s never wrong to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n For individual advice about specific scenarios, Lina suggests contacting local housing committees. <\/p>\n More broadly, these are the top five things she thinks tenants should know: <\/p>\n 1: You shouldn\u2019t sign anything you don\u2019t understand<\/p>\n Get informed about what you\u2019re being asked to sign before signing it, Lina said: \u201cRead through it, get advice from your housing committee if you need to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to undo a signature, and unfortunately, landlords have been known to show up at tenants\u2019 doors and intimidate them and say you have to sign this now, and that\u2019s never a requirement,\u201d she said. \u201cThat is like signing your rights away.\u201d <\/p>\n 2: You can refuse a rent increase<\/p>\n Tenants have three options when they receive a rent increase notice: accept; refuse and not renew the lease; or refuse and renew it, at which point the landlord would have to justify the increase through the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL). <\/p>\n \u201cMany landlords, unfortunately, don\u2019t even put the three options on the notice,\u201d Lina said.<\/p>\n Tenants have one month from the day they receive the notice to formally respond with their choice. <\/p>\n Lina suggests talking to neighbours to see what increase they received. Her landlord gives different increases to different neighbours, so they swap information, and all aim for the lowest amount requested.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how I\u2019ve managed to lower my increase several years in a row,\u201d she said. \u201cTalking to your neighbours is really, really powerful.\u201d <\/p>\n In addition to saving money for the individual, negotiating rent increases down also helps lower the average price of rents in the city, she said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe really need to be fighting for that as much as we can, as rents are skyrocketing.\u201d <\/p>\n 3: Security deposits are illegal <\/p>\n Unlike other places in Canada, security deposits are illegal in Quebec. That doesn\u2019t stop some landlords from asking for them, however.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a big red flag,\u201d Lina said. <\/p>\n It\u2019s common to pay the first month\u2019s rent while signing the lease with the landlord, but that shouldn\u2019t be confused with a deposit.<\/p>\n \u201cIn other places in Canada, (security deposits) are the norm, and so a lot of people who come to Quebec don\u2019t recognize that that\u2019s not how things work here, and landlords often get away with it,\u201d Lina said.<\/p>\n 4. You shouldn\u2019t withhold rent <\/p>\n \u201cThis is like, the number one way to get evicted,\u201d Lina said.<\/p>\n Paying rent is a tenant\u2019s obligation, and withholding it for more than three weeks is one of the reasons a landlord can terminate a lease with the TAL\u2019s permission. Withholding rent is \u201cplaying with fire,\u201d Lina said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not something that gives you the upper hand,\u201d she explained. \u201cIf there are problems with your apartment, if there are repairs that need to be done, there are processes and steps to take in order for the repairs to get done. It\u2019s legally required for the landlord to provide you with safe and livable housing, but withholding rent is not the move in such situations.\u201d<\/p>\n If a landlord hasn\u2019t addressed a problem despite the tenant going through the appropriate channels, Lina said they can, on some occasions \u2014 depending on the urgency \u2014\u00a0have the work contracted and subtract the amount from the rent (with receipts), \u201cBut I would really get advice before going down this route, whether it\u2019s through the TAL or your local housing committee.\u201d <\/p>\n 5. Pay attention to Section G on a lease<\/p>\n Section G, if filled in \u2014 which it should be \u2014\u00a0indicates the lowest price paid for a unit over the last 12 months. Outside of the context of a lease transfer, which keeps the rent as-is, landlords sometimes increase rent unjustifiably between tenants. <\/p>\n If you want a given apartment, Lina suggests signing the lease despite what Section G says, but to pay attention to it \u201cbecause it has the potential of saving you a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou might be able to reduce your current rent price if the increase is not justified\u201d by asking the TAL to reset the rent, Lina said. <\/p>\n Tenants have 10 days from the day the lease is signed to make the request with the TAL if Section G was filled out. If it was blank, tenants have two months. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is very time sensitive, and you have to be proactive about it,\u201d Lina said.<\/p>\n In some cases, rent increases are justifiable. <\/p>\n \u201cBut if you\u2019re entering a creaky house with outdated appliances, old paint, and suddenly it\u2019s $500 to $1,000 more than it used to be than what\u2019s indicated in Section G, you might want to think about that,\u201d Lina said.<\/p>\n 6. Bonus tips<\/p>\n Asked if it wanted to add anything to the above five tips, housing rights group Front d\u2019action populaire en r\u00e9am\u00e9nagement urbain (FRAPRU) said tenants asked to leave their apartments for major renovations are allowed to come back to them. <\/p>\n In addition, a tenant who plans on leaving their apartment should always have another one lined up before terminating their lease, FRAPRU advises. <\/p>\n For more information about tenants\u2019 rights, contact your local housing committee or the website locataire.info<\/a>.<\/p>\n kthomas@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n