The housing shortage in Sherbrooke, in the Eastern Townships, makes pre-rental surveys almost inevitable and some landlords even ask applicants to pay for them.
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Housing is scarce in Sherbrooke and with a vacancy rate below 1%, owners are spoiled for choice when it comes to finding their new tenant.
Sarah Couture denounced this practice. Arrived in Sherbrooke last August, she spent hundreds of dollars in pre-rental surveys for each time, to be told no.
For the first two homes visited, Sarah Couture paid $75 each time for a pre-rental survey.
One of the landlords even refused to reimburse her following preferring another person, who agreed to pay several months’ rent in advance.
“I didn’t know there was such competition. And in addition, I was not entitled to any reimbursement, ”lamented the young woman.
No regulation or law allows or prevents a landlord from charging tenants a fee for the pre-rental investigation, even if the Regroupement desproprietors d’Habitations locatives (RPHL) and the Corporation desproprietors immobiliers du Québec (CORPIQ) strongly advise once morest their members to do so.
On the standard CORPIQ rental contract, it is indicated at the very bottom: “That a deposit to cover the costs of the investigation has been given and will be kept by the lessor, only if the candidate refuses to sign the lease following having been accepted”.
This is not the case of Sarah Couture who suffered three refusals. The young woman recently applied for the takeover of a lease for housing 1 and 1⁄2, and had to ask her ex-spouse to stand surety to improve her chances, and had to pay the costs of two investigations to $100 each.
In the case of an assignment of lease, the Civil Code is clear: “Article 1872 allows the lessor who consents to the sublease, to demand the reimbursement of reasonable expenses related to the sublease and transfer of lease .”
Sarah’s application was rejected without her knowing why. The manager MRS Real Estate Investments has stated that it is not authorized or obliged to disclose the reasons for this.
“I am told that the credit is fine, that I have no record at the Administrative Housing Tribunal and nothing in the criminal docket, but I am still refused. I brood, I stress and wonder where the problem lies to correct it, but in vain”, she explained.
Exasperated to pay to wipe out the refusals in the end, Sarah Couture would like to know what’s wrong, especially since housing, she quickly needs it.
