Choosing between his cats and his accommodation: this is the ultimatum that Bruno Bélisle received after contesting a rent increase that he considered abusive with his landlord.
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The Sainte-Thérèse resident had had a good relationship with his landlord since he moved into his 4 1/2 in 2013. But the situation recently took a turn for the worse when he refused a $68 raise that would have cut his rent from $898 to $966 per month. In 2021, his rent had been increased by $21.
To justify this 7.6% increase, the owner, who did not respond to our messages, mentioned “tax, maintenance and insurance costs”.
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“He wants to take advantage of rent increases on the market,” says Bruno Bélisle. The average rent for a unit of this size in Sainte-Thérèse was $997 in 2021, according to the Rental Market Report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
After his refusal, the landlord offered him a rent increase of $55, which Bruno Bélisle also refused.
It was then that the tenant received another notice from his landlord, which shook him. “In the event that you do not want to part with your cats, you will have to leave,” reads the letter sent to him on January 17.
“With my state of generalized anxiety, the presence of my two cats is super important,” says the tenant.
Courtesy Bruno Bélisle
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Can someone be evicted because of an animal?
Bruno Bélisle admits it: it is written in his lease that “no animal” is allowed in the accommodation. He nevertheless criticizes his owner, who has often seen his cats, for using this clause as a pretext to kick him out.
This tactic would also be quite common, says the spokesperson for the Regroupement des Comités Logement et Associations de Tenants du Québec (RCLALQ), Marjolaine Deneault. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard about it, stories like this.”
However, the owners cannot do everything they want. A judgment of the Court of Quebec indicates, for example, that “when the owner requests the termination of the lease on the grounds of the presence of animals despite the clause prohibiting them from owning them, he must prove serious prejudice”.
For tenants who find themselves in a situation like that of Bruno Bélisle, Marjolaine Deneault recommends consulting a housing law lawyer or turning to a tenant assistance committee.
Photo archives, QMI Agency
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Threats from its new owner
Bruno Bélisle is not the only one to suffer reprisals for having contested a rent increase.
Barely days after buying the building where he has lived since 2014 in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Sylvain* received a visit from his new landlord, who came to tell him that his rent would go from $600 to $750 per month, a 25% increase.
“He justified himself by the increase in the welcome tax and by the fact that he wanted to rent his accommodation at the market price”, indicates the tenant, who refused this increase which he considers abusive, even if he acknowledges that his rent is lower than the average in Pointe-aux-Trembles.
“He tried to intimidate me into signing his sheet or saying hello. It was more verbal, showing me that he had to cash, telling me that he had shares in McDonald’s and more than 70 apartment blocks, ”he says. His new owner also threatened to put his business on the street if he did not “cooperate”.
Sylvain, who claims to experience a lot of anxiety because of the situation, says he filed a complaint for intimidation and contacted a lawyer to have his case heard before the TAL.
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Why we need to change the system
For Marjolaine Deneault, these two examples prove that we must change the ways of doing things and better regulate rent increases in Quebec.
Currently, it is up to tenants to refuse a rent increase deemed excessive. However, many of them avoid doing so so as not to poison their relationship with their owner and to avoid confrontation, regrets Mme Deneault.
“The burden of refusing the increase is on the shoulders of the tenant, and many do not do so for fear of worsening the relationship,” she insists.
The RCLALQ would rather see a rent register implemented in order to control increases and avoid abuse. Currently, the Administrative Housing Tribunal offers landlords a tool to calculate the rent increases to impose on their tenants. However, owners are not obliged to use it and stick to the increases offered by the TAL.
*Sylvain requested anonymity so as not to suffer further reprisals.
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