The Petite-Patrie Tenants Committee is sounding the alarm over what it calls an increasing number of elderly tenants being evicted in the area.

It is calling on the provincial government to adopt Bill 492, which is designed to protect the rights of the elderly.

The private member's bill was introduced by Francoise David, leader of Quebec Solidaire, last year.

The proposed legislation would require any landlord wanting to evict a senior to find them comparable lodging within a 5 km radius.

Liliane Dufour, 77, was evicted last year, and had three weeks to find a new home.

"I feel old, and before I didn't feel old. It gave me ten years more on my shoulders," said Dufour.

She said it is disgraceful that the company which kicked her out had months to act, while she had only a few weeks.

"I fought against it because I was happy. I was near my family, I had a structure around me. Everything was nearby," said Dufour.

"They hadn't any papers, they had not filed for a building permit. They didn't even have structural plans. They had nothing."

She said her landlord took eight months to finally get its plans in order, and then she was given three weeks to get out and find a new place.

"I was trembling. I was trembling and I'm still trembling," Dufour said. "They didn't give me one penny of what they should have given me."

Unhappy with her current lodging, she is still looking for a new place to live.

Martin Blanchard works with tenants in Montreal, and said there has been an increasing number of seniors being evicted over the past decade.

"In Petite Patrie we had 16 percent of the population in 2005 which were senior people living alone in their apartments. Now it's less than five percent," he said.

He added that because many older tenants have been in the same apartment for decades, they often pay much lower rents than neighbours who move more frequently.

This comes after Pierino Di Tonno began fighting his eviction from the Little Italy apartment where he has lived for the past 37 years.

Di Tonno, 82, learned he was being evicted after returning home following a three-month stay in hospital, and had a hearing before the Rental Board on March 8.

He says his landlord doesn't care about anything except turning a profit.

"I'm of Italian origin, and he's of Italian origin, but that doesn't matter. He doesn't care about anything except earning money," said Di Tonno.

Di Tonno is still waiting to learn if he will be evicted.