Groundbreaking law in Hampstead aims at eliminating 'renovictions'

After years of confrontation between tenants and city hall, the new administration in Hampstead is taking a completely different stand by adopting a bylaw that will protect tenants against renovictions, while forcing landlords to respect the rules.

The upscale Montreal suburb's municipal administration has decided that developers will now have to prove verifiable proof that tenants are willingly leaving and that their rights are respected if there are major renovations.

The law is an additional layer of protection against so-called renovictions where tenants are forced out of their residences under the pretext of renovations.

"We cannot override provincial laws, nor are we trying to," said Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi. "We're just enforcing compliance with existing laws."

The pro-tenants attitude is a radical departure from the previous administration, which recently sided with a developer who wanted to tear down aging apartments to build a modern condo project.

Financially out of reach to previous tenants, they forced a referendum, which the city lost.

Long-time city councillor Jack Edery said it was the town's duty to protect its citizens against unethical landlords.

"If a landlord wants to do renovations, he has to get a permit," he said. "In order to get a permit, under the new law, they have to show that the unit is vacant, or, if it's not vacant, they need to show us an agreement in writing between them and the tenant that the tenant has another place to live, or that arrangments have been made."

The bylaw could be groundbreaking in Quebec because other cities are already looking at it to see if it could be used to improve tenants' rights across the province.

"They're from an era where there was a housing surplus," said tenants' rights lawyer Daniel Bitton. "When rents were low, it was easy to find another apartment."