Community groups are calling on the borough of Cote-des-Neiges -NDG to get tough with slumlords.
They say housing in the borough has to be safer and healthier, claiming poor housing conditions are causing many health problems, including in young children.
According to the Montreal Public Health Department, 38 per cent of rental housing units in CDN- NDG with children six months old to 12 years old had excessive humidity or mould and that can lead to asthma.
Cockroaches were found in 23 per cent of homes with children in Cote des Neiges and 12 per cent of such homes in NDG, numbers they say are unacceptably high.
The groups are complaining that only six inspectors and one community agent are verifying housing conditions for the borough.
Living in unsanitary conditions is damaging not only to a person's health but also to their dignity.
One recent immigrant moved to Montreal in the summer of 2016. She found a job quickly and moved into an apartment on Barclay Ave., and then realized her new home was infested.
“She quickly found out that there mice and cockroaches in her apartment. The infestation was really serious. They were in the fridge, they were everywhere and when she told the landlord about the problem, he first said that it was in her head – that it didn't really exist – and then afterwards, he said, ‘What do you expect? That's what apartments are like in Cote des Neiges,’” said a housing advocate.
Equipe Denis Coderre's candidate for borough mayor, incumbent Russell Copeman, said if he is re-elected, he will continue what they acknowledge is a tough fight against slum lords, and use a new $250,000 fund for emergency cleanups they set up that enables them to do the needed cleanup and bill the landlords.
Projet Montreal's candidate Sue Montgomery said her party will boost the number of inspectors city-wide and set up a public registry of unsanitary housing conditions, so that potential tenants can check before they move in to an apartment
