Moving day: How inflation and a housing shortage may complicate Quebec renters' plans
The vacancy rate in Montreal is at two per cent this year, for the third year in a row.
The price for a three-bedroom, family sized-apartment generally starts at $1,500 a month.
While the average price for a two-bedroom apartment is roughly $1,050 a month, according to the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation, units under $1,000 are disappearing fast.
"We have a housing shortage. We always had a housing shortage. Especially for families, it's worse this year," explains former city councillor and longtime housing activist Arnold Bennett.
"And we have a situation where the rent increases are compounded by inflation, with the government allowing the biggest increases since the 1980s. Gouging by unscrupulous landlords, especially on people moving in."
The city, meanwhile, says Quebec still hasn't provided new funding for subsidized housing for low-income families, even if it keeps announcing initiatives.
"It's been three years in a row (with) no new money for social housing," said Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante.
Montreal has already assembled a team made up of city departments and social activist groups to assist those who don't find a place by July 1, explains Executive Council Vice-Chair Benoit Dorais.
"About 30 partners with the City of Montreal are ready to help every household on the Island of Montreal to make sure they are accompanied," he said, adding more than 200 families have requested assistance.
Short of getting funding for subsidized housing, the city is purchasing older buildings using a pre-emption clause that allows it to buy a building before it's listed for sale to private investors.
It spent eight million dollars to buy a former school on Gordon Street in Verdun.
The city says it will sell the building back to a non-profit group, which will then rent up to 90 units below market value, with clauses that will prevent speculation.
But it won't be ready for this year. Arnold Bennett says those who have to move should prepare in advance, to avoid a crisis on moving day.
Landlords, he says, are obligated to provide units that are up to building code. They cannot just say, "rented as is." Tenants also have a right to take their landlord to the rental board to get repairs done.
Bennett also advises people to leave their former apartment in good shape and take pictures, so their former landlord can't claim the place was wrecked. Quebec does not allow landlords to request security deposits.
He also strongly advises making arrangements with your new landlord about when you can arrive with your belongings.
Contrary to popular belief, noon is not the cut-off hour for the former tenant to leave and the new one to arrive.
"The guy leaving has got to be out by midnight, and the guy coming in has the right to be in at midnight plus one minute," said Bennett.
If the new tenant suffers prejudice as a result, they can sue the new landlord for the extra hours needed for a truck or even nights spent in a hotel waiting for the apartment to be ready.
His final advice: follow the rules, and you won't lose your apartment.
"Pay your rent, don't get into fights with your neighbours, and you're protected."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.