Thousands of Montrealers are toting new keys and unpacking boxes - including some filled with pizza - following the annual heavy-lifting moving ritual Monday.
The yearly tradition took place this year in a city which has a three percent vacancy rate, which means that the choice of rental units available to tenants was larger than in many previous years.
Anybody who had failed to vacate their apartment as of midnight on a typical July-to-July lease was not only likely trying their replacement's patience but was also technically breaking the law, as one expert notes.
“The law says you have to be out by midnight by the 30th of June,” said tenants rights’ advocate Ted Wright. “So technically if you're still there on the first you're in contravention of the law, period.”
Wright also said that new tenants have the right to a clean apartment free of bugs, according to article 1912 of the civil code.
The exact number of people moving cannot be determined exactly but the ubiquitous trucks seen double parked on countless city streets suggests that it was as an ample number.
CTV Montreal counted six moves from the corner of Oxford and Sherbrooke alone, as all involved seemed to be moving their goods in a smooth and cheerful manner.
