{"id":819332,"date":"2026-07-22T20:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/819332\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T20:27:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T20:27:14","slug":"cmhc-lawyer-illegally-evicted-longueuil-tenant-tribunal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/819332\/","title":{"rendered":"CMHC lawyer illegally evicted Longueuil tenant: tribunal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lawyer employed by a federal Crown corporation tasked with improving access to affordable housing was ordered to pay $21,000 after Quebec\u2019s housing tribunal found him liable for an illegal eviction.<\/p>\n

The decision, signed June 22 by administrative judge Marc C. Forest, found that Jonathan Savard-Shaw acted in bad faith when he instructed his Longueuil tenant to vacate a building he had bought.<\/p>\n

The lawyer had told his tenant that he intended to move into the unit after she left, but Savard-Shaw never moved in. Instead, he re-listed the unit at $1,700 per month \u2014 raising the rent by $500 from the $1,200 his former tenant paid.<\/p>\n

The Law Society of Ontario lists Savard-Shaw as a lawyer for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which has a mandate to increase housing supply to improve affordability. Though he\u2019s an Ontario lawyer, that province\u2019s law association says Savard-Shaw works out of the CMHC\u2019s Montreal office.<\/p>\n

According to the June decision, Savard-Shaw asked his tenant to leave despite \u201cnever wanting to live in the unit.\u201d The landlord had told the Tribunal administratif du logement that he had planned to move in, but Forest said the tribunal \u201cdoesn\u2019t believe him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement to The Gazette, the CMHC said it \u201cdoes not condone the actions referenced,\u201d but it declined to comment on whether Savard-Shaw had faced professional consequences, citing its privacy policy.<\/p>\n

Quebec housing regulations allow landlords to evict tenants<\/a> to move themselves or a family member in. Landlords cannot repossess a unit for other reasons without the tenant\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n

Savard-Shaw bought the Longueuil triplex in June 2024. The former landlord had previously lived in one of the units, leaving it vacant after selling the building.<\/p>\n

After buying the building, Savard-Shaw rented the former landlord\u2019s unit to a new tenant.<\/p>\n

Around three months later, he told another tenant she would have to leave her unit so that he could move in.<\/p>\n

The former landlord\u2019s unit had the same dimensions as the unit Savard-Shaw said he planned to move into, Forest noted in the decision, suggesting he could have moved into that unit instead of renting it to a new tenant.<\/p>\n

When repossessing the unit, Savard-Shaw told the tenant the move was necessary so that he could renovate the building he lived in. But he never went through with the renovation, citing higher-than-expected costs.<\/p>\n

Forest said Savard-Shaw should have calculated renovation costs before telling the tenant to leave her apartment.<\/p>\n

The landlord didn\u2019t tell the tenant he had cancelled plans to move into the unit until she had already found a new apartment, the decision said, meaning she didn\u2019t have the choice to stay in her unit.<\/p>\n

So the tenant left her home, moving to a new unit and paying higher rent.<\/p>\n

In his decision, Forest said the tribunal is \u201caware that there are more and more illegal repossessions\u201d taking place.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing for a tenant, like for a landlord, is one of the most fundamental needs that exists,\u201d the administrative judge said, ruling that the tribunal had a responsibility to \u201csend a clear and unequivocal message.\u201d<\/p>\n

Savard-Shaw was ordered to pay his former tenant a total of $21,000 in damages. The tribunal awarded the tenant $6,000 to cover higher rent in her new apartment, $5,000 in moral damages and $10,000 in punitive damages.<\/p>\n

The lawyer will also have to return to the tribunal, which will decide how much he can charge in rent.<\/p>\n

The Gazette has contacted Savard-Shaw for comment.<\/p>\n

jawilson@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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